Robert Long

Robert (Bob) Long died Jan. 14. He was 63.

Long was born April 21, 1950 in Long Beach, Calif. to Marion W. and Ileen P. Long. As a Navy brat, he lived in several communities before his family settled into their home in Markleeville, Calif. when he was 11. Thus began his knowledge and love of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He loved skiing and backpacking the rugged terrain and, as an adult, he and his "band of brothers" enjoyed their summer back packing trips, the most recent being this past July.

Long graduated Douglas High School in 1968, attended the College of Idaho for two years and graduated from Stanford University in 1973 with a master's in computer engineering.

He worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) from 1973 to 1987. He worked in engineering and supported computations as an engineer, group leader and then worked at the division level before his departure.

In 1985 he met Sara Clope at a seminar in San Diego. They married six months later on May 3, 1986 in Bryn Mawr, Pa. They lived on opposite coasts for their first year of marriage; then Bob moved to the Philadelphia area and worked for General Electric while his wife completed medical school. In 1990, they moved to his wife's home state, Wisconsin, and have resided in Cross Plains since then. Long held several executive level positions in technology firms that sold computer software to the world-wide broadcast market.

Long was gentle, thoughtful, kind, smart, funny and easygoing. He was always ready to take on a new adventure or a put a new twist on an old one. He was a loving and loyal husband, father, brother, uncle and friend. He helped others view their worlds in new and uplifting ways.

Long is survived by his wife Sara; children, Gillian and Gavin; brother, James Long of San Clemente, Calif.; uncle, Jack Long of Ozark, Ala.; cousins, nieces and nephews and many dear friends.

A memorial service will be held on Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. at Wellspring United Methodist Church, 5702 South Hill Drive, Madison, Wis. 53705. Following the service, a reception will be held at the family home.

Donations in Long's memory may be made to Gilda's Club of Madison, 7907 UW Court, Middleton, Wis. 53562 or to Pancreatic Cancer Research at the UW Carbone Cancer Center, 600 Highland Ave., Madison, Wis. 53792.