Robert Warden

December 4, 1937 - January 27, 2023

Robert Bailey Warden died at home in Berkeley on January 27, 2023. His family was at his side.

Born December 4, 1937, in Augusta, KS, Bob was the son of Warren Bailey Warden and Charlotte Life Warden. He spent his childhood largely in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Bob was a graduate of Swarthmore High School in Swarthmore, PA. He studied chemical engineering at Princeton University, graduating in 1959. He received his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota and spent a postdoctoral year at Cambridge University.

Bob married Emily Henning of St. Cloud, MN, and they celebrated their 60th anniversary last June. He is survived by Emily and their two children and their families: Elizabeth Warden Zobel and granddaughter Bailey Zobel, of Burnsville, MN, and Bruce Bailey Warden, daughter-in-law Angela Wu, and granddaughter Charlotte Warden, of Taipei, Taiwan. He also is survived by his brother William N. Warden of Paoli, PA.

Bob joined Chevron in 1964, retiring in 1999. Among his interesting assignments was a stint in London then St. John, New Brunswick, in the mid-1970s. In 2008 Bob joined the board of directors of the Theta Oil and Land Co., serving as treasurer for several years.

In his youth Bob played clarinet and saxophone and at Princeton he was a member of the marching band. He was an enthusiastic Boy Scout, including a memorable train trip to a jamboree in California with his brother Bill.

An early organizer of the Albany Berkeley Soccer Club in the late 70s/ early 80s, Bob also coached teams and was a referee. He had a lifelong interest in birds, with the highlight a trip to Panama’s Darian Gap.

Bob loved to travel and enjoyed the performing arts — music, theater, opera, ballet. For many seasons he saw three performances of every program at the San Francisco Ballet.

A memorial gathering will be scheduled for the summer. The family suggests donations in Bob’s memory to the San Francisco Girls Chorus, to the San Francisco Ballet, or to an organization of the donor’s choice.