Robert E Pepin

Bob died in New York in the early morning of Saturday, February 3. He had experienced chronic

illness over the last years of his life, but his death was sudden. His beloved life partner, Jo, was

the last person he reached out to before he died. He was 76 years old.

Bob was born in Jamestown, New York and grew up in Nashua, New Hampshire. He then moved

to Manchester, New Hampshire to attend Saint Anselm College, where he earned a bachelor’s

degree in 1969. Following college, he entered the Peace Corps, where he served in Jamaica for

two years. After Bob’s service in the Peace Corps, he returned briefly to New Hampshire before

being persuaded by friends from the Peace Corps to move to New York. There he made jewelry

and sold jewelry supplies before he moved to Columbia University where he served as the head

of the Circulation department for the Columbia University Libraries. Following his time at

Columbia, Bob was employed by a private engineering firm, where he served in various

administrative roles before he retired in 2015.

Bob was gifted in all of the STEM disciplines, but he was a free spirit. His interests were

wide-ranging and eclectic. He was a gifted photographer, who was more comfortable behind the

camera than in front of it. He was a gifted athlete – he loved skiing and surfing, music in almost

all of its forms (not so much opera, as Jo can attest.) One of his favorite memories was of driving

an F1 race car on a closed track in New Hampshire. He spent time in his retirement years

catching movie matinees at the art houses on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where he and Jo

made their home.

Bob was a gentle man, with serene confidence and a wry sense of humor. He was not a man who

cared about material possessions, but rather about enjoying the people around him and the

experiences life brought to him.

Bob is survived by his partner, Jo Cooper, and his sister, Lata Pepin, his dear friends the Sunamis

and the Kopelsons, and numerous other loving friends and neighbors. He was preceded in death

by his parents, Alida and Armand Pepin. Bob was cremated earlier this month, and his ashes

will be spread at his favorite surfing beach in Ogunquit, Maine. A memorial celebration will be

held for Bob at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Bob’s memory may be made to the The FMDG Music

School, https://fmdgmusicschool.org/donate/

The Diabetes Foundation

https://diabetesfoundationinc.org/get-involved/donate/

The American Civil Liberties Union.

https://action.aclu.org/give/giving-to-aclu-or-aclu-foundation