Dr. John Robert Schauwecker

April 26, 1931 - December 9, 2015

John Robert (Bob) Schauwecker, who spent almost four decades as a respected radiologist at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, passed away peacefully at the senior living community, Vi at Palo Alto, on December 9. His wife of 56 years, Suzanne, and his eldest daughter, Lynn, were by his side.

Bob was born in Pittsburgh on April 26, 1931, the eldest of three boys born to John Robert and Harriet Gould Schauwecker. His father was a pharmacist, first in West Virginia, where Bob spent most of his childhood, and then in El Centro, Calif., where Bob finished high school. Bob spent two years at Pomona College before transferring to Stanford University. Upon graduating cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, he went on to the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Bob completed his internship at Los Angeles County Medical Center, where he learned to deliver babies, care for diabetics and treat county jail inmates. He returned to Stanford for a residency in radiology, meeting Suzanne Voge, while she studied nursing. They were married in December of 1959, just six months after meeting. The couple moved to Sweden after residency so Bob could spend a year studying angiography, a groundbreaking medical imaging technique at the time. They were also able to travel throughout Europe.

Upon returning stateside, the couple moved to Bethesda, Md., so Bob could fulfill his two-year military obligation through the U.S. Public Health Service working at the National Institutes of Health. Their first daughter, Lynn, was born at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in 1963.

A year later, they returned to the Bay Area and Bob joined the radiology department at El Camino Hospital, where he went on to practice for 36 years. He was board certified in Radiology and Nuclear Medicine. Innovations and breakthroughs in imaging techniques during that time set the foundation for modern-day radiology and Bob loved being part of the movement, discovering new ways of diagnosing illness and improving patient care. He was meticulous, dedicated and devoted to his practice.

The couple had two more daughters, both born at El Camino Hospital, Lisa in 1966, and Nancy in 1968. With a growing family, they built a home in Los Altos Hills, completing it the same year as Nancy’s birth. The house and yard became a loving pastime for Bob, as was his in-home darkroom where he developed photographs he took of his daughters.

Providing service to those in need came naturally to Bob, as did a sense of humor that emanated from a smile spanning his eyes, heart and soul. He loved his family and enjoyed taking them on trips from beaches to mountains. Some of those trips turned into adventures, such as a horseback tour over the High Sierras with his family of novice riders. World travel was a constant, including several weeks in East Africa in 1970, where Bob photographed animals with a Russian lens that Suzanne carried in a wooden box.

The couple’s love of travel continued after the kids began their own lives. They took up scuba diving in their 50s, spent the millennium on a Russian ice breaker in Antarctica, and took a sixweek trip through South Africa the year Bob turned 70. After retiring from medicine in 2000, Bob discovered a natural gift for painting with an eye for color and a yen for bold work.

While Bob’s health declined over the last few years, he was grateful for a long and healthy life. He died on the same day as his mother, but 28 years apart. His brother, Tom, of San Juan Capistrano, died two days earlier on December 7. Bob will be sorely missed by his family and friends.

Along with his wife and three daughters, Bob is survived by his brother, Lee, of El Dorado Hills; a son-in-law, Matthias Mencke, of Los Angeles; and two wonderful grandchildren, Zachary and Amelie Gentry, of Boulder, Colo. A celebration of Bob’s life will be held January 24, 2016, at the Vi at Palo Alto.