Remembering Henry Robert, guardian of ‘Robert's Rules of Order'
Henry M. Robert III, noted author, senior editor and guardian of "Robert's Rules of Order" — the most commonly used parliamentary authority in the United States — died on Jan. 6 in Annapolis of natural causes at 98.
His life has national significance because he continued to lead and edit
“Robert's Rules of Order” written and published in
1876 by his grandfather,
Brig. Gen. Henry M Robert,
West Point graduate, Civil
War veteran and noted military engineer.
Henry's life was focused on preserving his family heritage — parliamentary procedure — his God, and his church.
Henry said that his grandfather wrote the 701-page "Robert's Rules of Order" after a 14-hour meeting in San Francisco when participants couldn't agree on what procedure to follow to make decisions as an organization. Robert's Rules lays out how to lead a meeting — making motions, amendments, appeals, acceptance, adopting and adjourning, derived from rules for conducting business in the British House of Commons.
To deal with issues first raised and incorporate evolving technology, such as the procedure for leading conference calls. Henry revised Robert's Rules about every decade.
His fourth revision and 11th edition, “Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised,” was published in 2011. He also coauthored “Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised in Brief ” a shorter, more readable introduction to parliamentary procedure.
According to Henry, “there's a certain paradox to all this. You have to impose regulations to preserve a group's freedom to act to the best satisfaction obtainable.”
He served as parliamentarian for many groups: the Republican Party of the State of Colorado, the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus, and the U.S. Catholic Bishops. He was past honorary president of the National Association of Parliamentarians. He was past grand knight of the Annapolis Council 4th Degree Assembly No. 381.
A convert to Catholicism, Henry was an oblate of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, the Redemptorists, an ordained member of the congregation, and resided at St. Mary's Church for some 50 years.
He began the lector ministry at St. Mary's, in which a parishioner reads portions of the mass to the congregation and served on the pastoral council.
Henry was tall, white-haired and bespectacled, serious and considerate. He was always impeccably attired in a dark suit, tie and shiny black shoes,
He was visible early in the morning, leading the rosary before early morning mass. His stentorian voice led some 25 people in prayer every morning in devotions to the Blessed Mother, beginning with “Hail Mary full of grace” and lasted some 30 minutes, as he explained the themes for each of the five decades of the Rosary.
Henry was busy around the parish during the day working with some of the 40-some outreach ministries. He was forceful, polite, and focused as if he were looking for a meeting to run or some complicated issues to resolve. He drove himself around Annapolis and had his favorite parking spot in the St. Mary's parking lot next to the Charles Carroll House.
With a master's degree in physics from Quebec's Laval University, he served as an ensign at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in Washington, specializing in mathematics and physics, and was awarded the World War II Victory Medal.
Henry graduated from St. Johns' Great Books Program and was active in the alumni association. His father was a professor of mathematics at the Naval Academy, and he presented the Robert Prize in mathematics to a graduating midshipman each year.
A close friend said that he was seriously concerned that the Almighty might take him to task for not reading the many important books he had promised to read!