Robert Dick

Dr. Robert “Bob” Dick passed away Thursday, September 8, 2016 at Ogeechee Area Hospice Inpatient Center after a short illness. Bob was Associate Professor Emeritus at Georgia Southern University where he taught Public Administration and Political Science from 1973 until his retirement in 1992.

Dr. Dick earned his A.B. degree from the University of Michigan in 1950. He completed work on his Masters in Public Administration in 1954 and Doctorate in Public Administration in 1973 from New York University. Bob remained a devoted Michigan Wolverines supporter throughout his life and an avid National League baseball fan.

Robert Dick was born in Philadelphia, PA on December 5, 1929. His parents, Abraham and Bertha (née, Ottenberg) Dick of Bronx, NY, and a sister, Marjorie Dick Kohane, of Boca Rotan, FL preceded him in death. Dr. Dick is survived by his niece, Helen Kobek of Cambridge, MA, his nephew, David Kohane of River Edge, NJ, and a brother-in-law, Theodore Kohane, of Boca Raton, FL.

He served with pride in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1955, in personnel administration, and then served eight years in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Bob was known for his vast and impressive vocabulary which he employed to great effect in explaining arcane political theories, sports, the arts and life in general. With a twinkle in his eye, he took great pride in being able to name every U.S. Vice President since John Adams served as Washington’s V.P. He greatly enjoyed his weekly energetic coffee discussions with retired and active university professors.

Bob remained a daily presence in the Political Science Department for at least a decade after his retirement and was instrumental in mentoring new faculty, working on community theater performances and art projects.

Theater was his passion. He spent his later years writing plays. In 2010, his play, “An Evening with Langston Hughes” was presented at the Emma Kelly Theater in Statesboro. Directed by Mical Whitaker, also a retired GSU professor, the show starred Richard Whiten, GSU graduate and TV and film actor, as Hughes, who was a poet, novelist, playwright and columnist. In an interview in the “George-Anne,” Bob noted that the play was “meant to show how important Hughes was to spreading and understanding the spirit and awareness of multiculturalism in American life.” Sharing his play with a local audience was one of the highlights of Bob’s life.

Bob loved the arts and was always greatly supportive of artistic people around him, especially art students and faculty at Georgia Southern. He was passionate about civil liberties. He was very concerned that knowledge and passion for our civil liberties be passed on to the succeeding generations. To that end, Bob helped create a fund at the GSU Foundation for an annual Bill of Rights Celebration.

He was also a good friend to the local Humane Society. Not only did he support the Society monetarily, he also rescued his feline friends and fostered several of them for the group.

Donations in Bob’s memory may be made to the Georgia Southern University Foundation Bill of Rights Award (Account 0430).

No memorial services are planned.

Interment will be in the Sharon Gardens section of Kensico Cemetery in Westchester County, NY.

Please visit our online memorial at www.hodgesmoore.com to sign the guestbook and share fond memories with the Dick Family.

Hodges-Moore Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.