FALMOUTH – Robert Louis Woodbury, 71, passed away peacefully Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, at home, after a courageous battle with lymphoma. He was the son of Glen P. Woodbury and Barbara Carr Woodbury, and the husband of Anne Pelletreau Woodbury, with whom he just celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary. A leader in higher education and public service, Bob’s life was fully and passionately lived. Bob graduated from Belmont Hill School in 1956 and Amherst College in 1960, and earned a doctorate in American studies from Yale University in 1966. He began his career as a professor at the California Institute of Technology and then as a senior administrator at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He came to Maine in 1979 as president of the University of Southern Maine, USM. He led USM after the merging of the Portland and Gorham schools, and helped establish the Edmund Muskie Institute of Public Affairs. In 1986 he became chancellor of the University of Maine System, a position he held until 1993. He ran for governor in 1994, served as interim chancellor in 1995 and then as director of John W. McCormack Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Massachusetts Boston from 1996 to 1999. Bob’s public service extended far beyond his formal jobs. He was chair of the board of the Council on International Educational Exchange, the American University in Bulgaria – which he helped found – the New England Board of Higher Education, the Maine Public Broadcasting System – which he helped re-establish in its current form – and most recently, the Maine Community Foundation. He served on the boards of Maine Medical Center, Eastern Maine Medical Center, Maine Development Foundation, Maine Humanities Council, Maine Maritime Museum and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. He was trustee emeritus of Amherst College and received honorary degrees from Amherst, Bowdoin College, Maine Maritime Academy and Westfield State College. Of his many public service experiences, he took particular pride in the diversity of his engagement in Maine public life. We remember him as a consummate optimist whose interest, passion, humor, humility, curiosity and breadth of knowledge made him an engaging presence. Bob was especially proud of his wife and family. He wrote a series of eight plays for his grandchildren to perform, and was fulfilled most deeply by family times. He was fortunate to have all three of his children and their families living nearby throughout his retirement, and spent considerable time with his grandchildren. He is survived by his wife, Anne; three sons, Dick and his wife, Debbie, of Yarmouth, Mark and his wife, Dana, of Falmouth and Jack and his wife, Karen, of Yarmouth; eight grandchildren, Erin, Sam, Ben, David, Matthew, Nina, Miles and Tessa; and two brothers, Jack and his wife, Janet, of Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., and Ron and his wife, Melissa, of Pendleton, Ore. A memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, at First Parish Church, 9 Cleaveland St., Brunswick. Memorial gifts may be made to any campus of the University of Maine System, care of UMS Office of Finance and Treasurer, 16 Central St., Bangor, ME 04401. For those unable to attend, condolences may be expressed at www.brackettfuneralhome.com.
ROBERT LOUIS WOODBURY
