1966

scmintern@scu.edu

Robert “Bob” Rosenquist ’66 was born in Oakland and attended Garfield Middle School and Berkeley High before entering UC Berkeley, where he received a B.S. in chemical engineering in 1958. He was later awarded an MBA with honors from SCU. A member of Theta Xi at Cal, where he was nicknamed “Rosey,” Bob asked Connie for a date early his senior year. Bob and Connie’s Swede-Finn grandparents had known each other before either of them were born. They fell in love, were married on May 14, 1960, and celebrated 57 years of marriage. Bob’s first job was in the solid rocket division of Aerojet General in Sacramento, California. Bob and Connie purchased a home in the McKinley Park area, to which they brought home their first son, John Erik. Bob then worked three years in Santa Clara at Owens-orning Fiberglass. The family lived in Willow Glen and welcomed their second son, Karl Robert. After receiving his MBA, Bob decided to utilize the degree, necessitating a transfer to Brea, California. Three years later they moved to Bel Air, Maryland. Bob worked for Hexcel Corporation, traveling throughout the East Coast and Midwest. Kurt Andrew and Kris Alexander were born in Baltimore. Good friends were made, but Bob decided to return to California so he and Connie could be closer to their extended families. British Petroleum would be the last company at which he worked before retiring in 1996 and moving back to his childhood hometown of Berkeley. Most important in Bob’s life were his sons’ and grandchildren’s interests and activities. Bob still talked about trips with Erik and Karl to Santa Fe and the Four Corners, visiting Karl in Evanston, Charleston, and Gainesville, Kris in Corvallis and Portland, and all three on many hikes in the Sierra as well as summer stays in Twain Harte. Lifelong interests included stamp collecting, reading—especially Civil War, World Wars I and II history, and physics. Watching the Cal Golden Bears, Northwestern Wildcats, and Oregon State Beavers on TV and in person took precedence over other sports. He enjoyed tennis most recently with seniors from the El Cerrito Tennis Club and watching players from Stefan Edberg, Jim Courier, and Andre Agassi to Roger Federer in Indian Wells. The card games Bridge and Pedro occupied many hours with friends and family throughout the years. Bob loved long walks in the neighborhood until a few years ago. On an evening walk in Fullerton, he heard someone call “Bob!”: A man who had worked with him years ago at Aerojet was visiting Orange County and said he recognized Bob’s stride anywhere. Bob had a keen wit, evident in many “reports” he wrote about family and art trips. He often joked that these writeups would be better if “your mom didn’t make corrections to be politically correct!” Bob passed away at his home in Berkeley at the age of 82. He was preceded in death by his beloved sons Kurt Andrew and Karl Robert and parents Ina and Harold Rosenquist. His maternal great-great-grandparents, Mary and Edward McDonough, are buried on the grounds of California’s San Antonio de Padua Mission. He is missed already and will be forever by his wife, Connie. Bob was immensely proud of his sons Erik and Kris and daughters-in-law Laura and Toni, who added richness in so many ways. A friend of Connie’s said more than once, “Bob is the finest dad to sons that I have ever known.” Called “Bobo” by his grandchildren, Bob deeply loved granddaughter Marin and grandsons Anders, Alexander, and Erikson. His sister Betty Viramontes of Pinole and cousin Butch Heinsen of Monterey County also survive him.

08 Nov 2018