Robert James Hines

Robert James Hines, 80, of Trent Woods, North Carolina, passed away on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at Craven Regional Medical Center in New Bern after fighting a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

A memorial service to honor Bob’s life will be held at 10am, Saturday, March 8th at St Andrew Lutheran Church, officiated by Rev. Kenneth Saurman. Visitation will begin at 9am.

Bob, born in Memphis, Tennessee, was the beloved son of the late Oscar and Grace Hines. He was raised in Camden, NC and after graduating from high school in 1962 attended North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. After college Bob worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and spent time in Alaska, Japan and other areas before settling in Washington DC with wife, Allison.

In 1971, Bob and Allison moved to Wilmington, NC where Bob took a job with the Coastal Regional Commission. Then in 1979 Bob was offered a job with the North Carolina Sea Grant program where he would stay for 32 years. Bob and Allison moved to New Bern, NC in 1979 and made that their permanent home.

Bob contributed quite a bit to the NC Coastal Ecosystem in his time at Sea Grant. Whether it was introducing closed crab shedding systems to eastern NC, skimmer rigs for shrimp trawling, helping improve the economics for commercial fisherman in eastern NC, approving and administering research grants for future generations of Marine Biological research or providing objective, research-based information to fishery resource managers and university researchers in his time at Sea Grant. The role was more than a job to him and it became a career that he retired from in 2009.

Before Bob and Allison left Wilmington for New Bern, they welcomed two children to their life. Michael, their son in 1974 and Caryn, their daughter in 1978. Bob loved his family more than anything else and that was evidenced by the many activities he spent his life experiencing with his wife and children. Whether it was baseball games, soccer games, trips out to Shackleford Banks in Bogue Sound, summer trips to Allison’s parents Kennebunk Pond Lake house in Lyman, ME, to hunting trips, fishing trips, Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays and all the other family holiday events, Bob was there for all of it and was always smiling and happy to be there.

A man with many talents, Bob found joy in his hobbies such as hunting, fishing, woodworking and other projects building sheds, installing hardwood floors at his own house and many projects at both of his children’s houses, Bob showed his many talents in many different ways. Bob was also an outstanding chef. He perfected too many recipes to mention but his egg rolls and fried rice are better than any to be found at any other place.

Any activity that involved being outdoors, Bob loved. Duck hunting, deer hunting, fishing, boating or even just being out in the yard cutting the grass or picking up pinecones, the latter of which he developed a peculiar love for doing as he got older, Bob was happiest when he was outside.

In addition to his interests and career, Bob was proud of his family and happiest when with them. He welcomed three granddaughters, Ellie (2008), Hannah (2012) and Liv (2015) and he adored those girls. Bob welcomed anyone who came into his life

Those remaining to cherish his memory are his soulmate and devoted wife of 55 years, Allison Hines; son, Michael Hines of Trent Woods, NC; daughter, Caryn Conradi (Leif) of Towson, MD; sister, Geneva Hines of Camden, NC; granddaughters Ellie Conradi, Hannah Conradi and Liv Conradi all of Towson, MD.

In addition to his parents Bob was preceded in death by his Father-in-law Ralph Glew; Mother-in-Law Iris Glew; daughter Katie Hines; brother Taylor Hines; and sister Carrie Galow and brother-in-law Thomas Glew.

As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be made to St Andrews Lutheran Church, 1605 Neuse Blvd, New Bern, NC 28560 c/o Robert Hines Memorial