Robert Clarke

February 5, 1931 - December 7, 2023

Bob (Dr. Robert B. Clarke, Ph.D) was born to Stanton and Lillian (Brasher) Clarke in Chicago, Ill., and moved with his family to Wilmette, Ill., in 1939 when his sister, Betsy, was born. He graduated from New Trier High School and received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and an M.A. in Psychology from Northwestern University. In 1954, he came to Stanford University to pursue a Ph.D. in Psychology.

At Stanford he met Rosalee Tucker, whom he married in 1957. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology, with a minor in Statistics, in 1959, and then worked in Guidance Research for the Palo Alto Unified School District for two years. At that time, he was also the principal author of a Psychological Statistics textbook.

In 1962, he began teaching Statistics and Tests and Measurements in the Psychology Department at San Jose State University. He enjoyed this career for 30 years, earning many honors for his teaching. In addition, he collaborated on another Psychological Statistics textbook with his colleague, Edward Minium, and also served two years as Chairman of the SJSU Psychology Department. Bob retired from teaching in 1993.

In retirement, Bob enjoyed folk dancing, bicycling, cross country skiing, river rafting, and hiking locally and in the Sierras.

He travelled to Greece, and later to Israel, with his friend, Dwight Goodwin. When Rosalee retired, they travelled in Europe, and especially in England, where they enjoyed spending time in London and taking several long-distance walks in the countryside.

Spirituality was very important to Bob. He attended many meetings, workshops, and retreats, put on by the Iona Center (Healdsburg), run by Marvin and Nancy Hiles. Later, he was part of a group of retired fellow educators, who called themselves The Wisdom Group.

He is survived by his sister, Betsy Page; his wife, Rosalee; their sons, David (Maureen Johnston), Robert Jr. (Erik Kieser), and Leon (Lois); grandchildren, Ella (Jarrot Mayfield), Caldwell, and Eugene; and greatgranddaughter, Leila. May his memory be a blessing.

Visit online memorial here:

tinyurl.com/DrClarkePhD