ROBERT VESSELS

Saratoga Springs – Robert Donald Vessels of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Chatham, Mass., died peacefully in Chestnut Hill, Mass., on July 3, 2018. He was 91. Born in Long Beach, Calif., on March 8, 1927, he was the son of Frederick and Berniece Vessels. As a boy Bob grew up with a healthy mix of body surfing and manual labor, and learned to love nature at places like Big Bear Lake and Yosemite, whose School of Field Natural History he later attended. A lifelong Christian Scientist, he was a graduate of the Upper School in St. Louis and nearby Principia College on the Mississippi, where he minored in pranks and met fellow biology major Lois Ann Nitchman of Schenectady, N.Y., his wife for the next 66 years. Settling in her hometown, they devoted their lives to raising a family in an old farmhouse they fixed up in Scotia. Navy veteran, herpetologist, stonemason’s helper – Bob emerged as a problem solver after he joined General Electric , working on an “Inside the Atom” comic book and with the legendary Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. Later, juggling a career and family, he got a master’s degree at SUNY Albany with a focus on futurist R. Buckminster Fuller and had found a career in state government. After decades in civil service, including the New York State Atomic and Space Development Authority, Bob retired as Director of the Office of Energy Conservation and Environment, NYS Department of Public Service, where he pioneered work in noise and indoor air pollution, radon and energy conservation, and brought Harvard Law School’s new “Getting to Yes” negotiation approach to the regulatory arena. A skier and a skater, he loved to swim, sail, watch birds and root for the Chatham A’s on Cape Cod, where he and Lois renovated a cottage as their second home. For more than 20 years they also went to Maui for a winter month to seek shells, snorkel with fish and photograph flowers. With a winning smile and a twinkle in his eye, he always had a story to break the ice. Bob was a mentor to many, whether they knew it or not, and led by example by staying cool in times of crisis. He loved jazz, saved whales, bought hard-cover books and knew his way around a dance floor. He was the sort of man who could go from a bowtie to a cowboy hat in the same day. In every sense Bob lived by his motto -- “Always choose good as the reality” – and applied it not only to his own life but to the outside world. Throughout he gave more than he took, especially with family. He was predeceased by his wife in 2016 and by his son, Eric, in 1974. Survivors include his daughter, Heather Cushing (Michael) of Saratoga Springs; his grandchildren, Rebecca Cushing of Great Barrington, Mass., and Andrew Cushing of Brooklyn; and a godchild. There will be a private service. Burial will be in the family plot in Park View Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Principia College Biology Department and to Mass Audubon’s Berkshire Wildlife Sanctuaries.

Online remembrances may be made at burkefuneralhome.com.