Robert Lafayette Obituary

ROBERT “BOB” E. LAFAYETTE
May 26, 1932 ˜ August 30, 2020
“Praying to the Powerful Forever”

Bob Lafayette, beloved husband, brother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away in his sleep on Sunday morning, Aug. 30.
Born and raised in Boston, MA, Bob served his country both in the Army, where he was a paratrooper during the Korean War, and in the Air Force, where he met his future wife of 61 years, Shelley.
After settling in Vancouver, WA, in 1970, Bob worked for 25 years as an electrician at Ross Substation, before retiring in 1995 to dedicate all of his time to the mental health community through NAMI, CVAB, and Portland’s Club 53. With his characteristic strong sense of duty and responsibility, he left an indelible mark upon the many people he touched in countless hours of service, being described by a grateful colleague as “the salt of the earth,” and proudly wearing a pin clients made for him that read “Let Bob be Bob.”
Throughout his life, he was an avid student of history and of Shakespeare, and he imparted them upon friends, family, and acquaintances alike with generous enthusiasm. All of his children and their friends remember the punishment he routinely meted out for rambunctiousness: a timeout with assigned reading from “European Discovery of America.”
He is survived by his wife, Shelley; sister, Mary; daughters, Andrea and Lora; sons, David and John; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
We mourn his passing, but we celebrate his life, and we are grateful to have shared in his journey.
“We are such stuff as dreams are made on;
and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”
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