Robert Lee Schwiesow was known and beloved for his easy-going manner, quick wit, and ready willingness to lend a hand when someone needed help. An avid reader, Bob was a fount of knowledge, from the practical to the obscure and fascinating. Highly intelligent and deeply thoughtful, Bob had a singular vision of how to live a good life. Full of irrepressible energy, he was in constant motion most of his life: bicycling, sailing, hiking, playing tennis, and walking.
Bob was born on February 14, 1944, in Honduras to Will and Zola (Shellabarger) Schwiesow and grew up in Salem, Oregon.
After completing his B.A. at Dartmouth, Bob wanted to do work that would help change troubled lives, initially looking to law school but changing course to complete a master’s degree in social work at UW.
During his 57-year marriage to acclaimed artist Anne Hirondelle, Bob assisted her work for years with kiln firings of her ceramic art. After moving to Port Townsend in 1976 and turning a fixer-upper into a welcoming home with studio and out-buildings, Bob opted to find work that would let him pursue his wide-ranging interests. For decades he was a part-time driver for Carl Johnson, delivering clams and oysters to Seattle and returning with building supplies. That left him time for leisure pursuits and time to assist friends and acquaintances with whatever they needed, from moving printing presses to chauffeuring people into Seattle for recurring medical treatments.
As inveterate walkers, Bob and Anne were a common Port Townsend sight, uptown and down, morning and afternoon. According to a friend’s calculations, over time they logged more than 32,000 miles, or one and a quarter times around the earth.
The last ten years of Bob’s life were difficult as he grieved the loss of close friends and struggled with debilitating depression. He died at Life Care Center of Port Townsend on March 11 and requested no services. He is survived by his wife, brothers Gale Schwiesow (wife Susann) and Franz Schwiesow (wife Sandy Marie Harvey, sister of Anne), nephew Todd Schwiesow, and sisters-in-law Carolyn Harvey and Joy Harvey.
