Robert Addis Emmett III

Bob Emmett, 82, passed away peacefully on October 13, 2025, at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, after a gradual decline from Parkinson’s and dementia. He was surrounded by his four children and local family members.

Bob was born in Washington, D.C., in 1943, where his father, Robert Emmett, Jr., was assigned to the Office of Naval Research, and grew up in Birmingham, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan, class of 1965, followed by Stanford Law School, class of 1969. He married Anne Flanigan Emmett in 1969, and they served in the Peace Corps in Venezuela for two years together before traveling around South America.

Bob and Anne later moved to Bethesda, Maryland, and had four children followed by nine grandchildren. Bob started his legal career in Washington, D.C., at the newly formed Environmental Protection Agency, where he helped write the Clean Water Act. Ten years in private environmental law practice followed, at the D.C. branch of a Pittsburgh-based law firm, Reed Smith. He served as a political appointee under President Clinton at the Department of Energy, then wrapped up his career in the corporate counsel office of W.R. Grace. He served on the Board of Directors of Detrex Corp., the chemicals company founded in Detroit by his grandfather, Robert Emmett, Sr. He retired in 2011, after 43 years in the working world.

Bob was famously competitive, which tended to come out during family games of Spoons, or while keeping up the HPMs (houses per minute) during trick-or-treating on Halloween, or especially when enforcing Poison Croquet at the Bay. He rocked a game of volleyball or tennis in his heyday, and loved watching sports in all forms, especially if played by his children or grandchildren or his beloved Michigan Wolverines. His impressive vinyl collection reflected his deep love of music, from the Beatles to Beethoven, and much more in between. Bob was the Washington Post’s most dedicated subscriber, and he saw every Saturday Night Live episode ever made.

Bob loved travel, but most treasured heading north in the summer, to the magically beautiful lakeside community of Little Point Sable on the shores of Lake Michigan. As the hymn sung in the little church in the wildwood notes, “Though my steps will wander far, My heart will see it still.”

Bob is survived by his daughter Jennifer Emmett, and husband Lee Bodner, their children Katherine Bodner, David Bodner, Sarah Bodner; his daughter Laura Emmett O’Connor, and husband Francis O’Connor, their children Lilly O’Connor, Patrick O’Connor; his son Bobby Emmett, and wife Amy Strope Emmett, Bobby’s son Finn Emmett; his son Andrew Emmett, and wife Blakey Burr Emmett, their children Palmer Emmett, Elise Emmett, Austin Emmett; his sister Joan Van Horn; his brother Jim Emmett and partner Jane Tymon; and his brother Barry Emmett and wife Judy Emmett, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. He is pre-deceased by his wife of 53 years, Anne Emmett, and his parents, Marjorie and Robert Emmett.