I received this communications a short while ago. It is with the greatest sadness that I must announce this.
Diane Phelan
Message: Dear Anthony and the WUWT moderators:
I am the daughter of Robert Phelan and I unfortunately have some bad news to pass on. My father passed away suddenly last night from what we believe to be a heart attack. I know you had a party planned on the 18th. I would hate to say it’s cancelled because knowing my father, he would want the celebration to continue, but I’m hoping we could have a conversation first.
…
I’m so sorry to have to bring this news to you. He spoke of you often and with much respect and admiration.
Bob was the nicest and most helpful individual you could ever want to meet. I had met him twice, at two Heartland conferences, and we spoke over the phone often. He was tireless and dedicated to helping us all here, he was very helpful to me, and we’ve all lost a dear friend. Many of you knew him by his signature [REP].
I can tell you this was like a kick in the stomach for me. I loved Bob like a brother. He was always quick with a laugh and easy to talk with. He was fair, and honest, and good. My last communications with him was yesterday morning, and as usual, it was a message to help me with something about WUWT, passing along an important comment that I might otherwise have missed due to the volume.
I spoke with Diane Phelan his daughter, today, and I have conveyed my deepest sympathy to her and to the family. Details on funeral or other arrangements are obviously uncertain right now, and I will pass them along on this thread as I have them. I’ll also post a photo and official obituary when I have them.
As for the WUWT East Coaster’s picnic planned at Bob’s house on the 18th, – I don’t know at this point. One day at a time.
Bob was a lecturer at Eastern Connecticut State University in Sociology, Anthropology & Social Work. He understood people well, which is what made him such a great asset as a lead moderator at WUWT. To say he will be missed here, is an understatement.
The header of WUWT goes to a black band now, to honor and mourn his passing.
###
UPDATE: A site for donations to help cover funeral costs will be made available in a day or two. I’ll announce that here when it is ready. – Anthony
UPDATE2: 8/11/12 6:30PM PST
The wake is this Wed, August 15th from 4-8p at the Cody-White Funeral Home (right off the Milford MetroNorth stop) 107 Broad St., Milford, CT 06460.
The funeral is this Thurs., August 16th at 10:30 am at St. Mary’s Church, 70 Gulf St. Milford, CT. The interment will be at St Mary’s Cemetery immediately following.
Full obituary here
The link to the memorial fund site set up is:
http://www.giveforward.com/therobertphelanmemorialfund
There’s lot of new pictures of Bob there. Please take a moment to look and consider helping.
The Phelan family asked me if I would ask your to donate to the memorial fund in lieu of flowers. I am happy to do so, especially after learning of this below.
I received this update from his daughter Diane Phelan, when I inquired where Bob was when he was stricken:
To answer your question, my father was found at his study desk, where we often found him asleep! He had very likely fallen asleep moderating the blog, or doing some related research.
…
As I probably mentioned to you, he most likely didn’t feel it and it was quick and peaceful for him, something I am grateful for and it’s what he would have wanted.
Thank you for any considerations you can offer. I have made a significant contribution myself. – Anthony
To Bob’s family, I offer my condolences and sympathies.
To Bob, I offer my thanks for your contribution. RIP.
REP, thank you. I only wish I had said it sooner. Condolences to family and friends.
Such a loss…. I only knew Robert as “REP” here on WUWT, but his learned, rational, steady hand at moderation here was so much appreciated. I could tell from his comments there was a wise soul behind those initials. RIP sir and condolences to all of your family and friends. You will be missed, indeed.
RIP REP
Condolences and thanks where appropriate.
My sincerest condolences to him and his family and the WUWT family. He will be missed.
Wow what a surprise I get when I come to your blog to read of sad news of a nice person sudden death. It is a sobering realization that life is a precious thing to have and when it goes away suddenly the shock comes afterwards.
Anthony tells of his feeling being kicked in the stomach at the shocking news. Similar for me when I arrive at John Daly’s blog in January 2004 and find a sad message posted that stated that he died suddenly. I was in shock for a time and still even to this day have these momentary feelings of missing him deeply. Yes even after 8 years have passed,I still feel the shock of that day.
Rest in Peace Robert and may your many positive contributions in your life be remembered.
Whoever here said (I don’t remember his name) :
I don’t believe in gods or an afterlife
Henry says
what a horrible depressing thought;
indeed it is sad to note that life on earth has come to a point of which Jesus asked: when I come back (= when the world ends), will I still find faith? Faith is also the belief in truth and the belief in truth as a final destination: Jesus is the Truth
Henry@REP
don’t RIP!!! live and carry on living, in those that admired you, in a dimension that not too many people know much about, yet, ……..we will meet up with you soon …..
Sad news indeed Condolences to his family and to you Anthony on the loss of a friend and colleague.
Let the continuing quest of this site be a testament and memorial to his integrity and vision.
Michael Jennings says:
August 11, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Puts things into perspective for both skeptics and AGWers. Hoping God wraps his arms around Bob and says “well done, thy good and faithful servant”
With all the sincere condolences and well wishing for his family that’s been expressed here, that is a given.
My condolences to Diane and the rest of Roberts family and friends.
I think he was a bit severe in his moderating sometimes but that may just mean I was a bit lax in my moderating of a family IRC channel.
Very sad to hear of this. 🙁
Definitely one of the good guys.
DaveE.
My condolences to REP’s family. Let me offer the following that we used for my father’s memorial many years ago:
I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says: “There, she is gone!”
“Gone where?”
Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at the moment when someone at my side says: “There, she is gone!” there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: “Here she comes!”
And that is dying.
Anonymous.
“michael hart says:
August 11, 2012 at 3:59 am
Because he worked on Watts Up With That, one of the most frequented web-sites, REP leaves behind a world wide legacy and reputation. Indeed, he was one of those partly responsible for the popularity of WUWT, and the world is better place for having people like him.”
Hear, hear, Michael.
So very sad. All condolences to Robert’s family.
Anthony,
My condolences to you for the loss of your friend and to Robert’s family for the loss of their loved one.
As an addendum to my condolences, Posting as Robert E. Phelan, I always thought his posts considered and generally well thought out. Robert will be sorely missed.
DaveE.
Oh how sad. May Robert’s family find some sense of peace knowing how much he will be missed
In My view Mr Phelan you have not died and never will
I’m truly shocked. His comments and moderation showed him to be a gracious and fair man. The WUWT comments are very important and his absence is a great loss to us all. I’m so sorry for his family.
Condolences to Mr. Phelan’s family and friends. Bob did a great job as moderator and provided a valuable service to the entire scientific community with his efforts here at WUWT.
One could tell from his skill as a moderator that he was a good and fair man. May he rest among the giants.
Did anyone else notice this?
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nhregister/obituary.aspx?n=robert-phelan&pid=159080734&fhid=4787#fbLoggedOut
Rest in Peace, Robert, you will be missed.
OH NO.
The world has lost one of the good ones. May he rest and peace. My heart goes out to his family, biological and world wide.
My condolences to family and friends.
As time is a relative reference within an era perhaps a reference to his time here at WUWT could be expressed in blog views and total comments moderated throughout his moderation efforts and would express his commitment to the ideals set forth at/of WUWT. At his passing the blog view count was in excess of 122 million and an uncertain (to me) number of posts that were moderated which required reading and evaluating. This is no small feat regardless of the number of moderators that have been working 24/7.
Mr Phelan was a valuable gift to all of us who read and engage here at WUWT. I’m sure that he gained from his time here at WUWT as we have all gained from his example that has carried into our personal and private lives.
I don’t know if Robert’s family value prayers to the God that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. But they’ve got some anyway.
To his family: Do what you need to handle this sudden loss. (Been there. Done that.) If you can and want to have the get together he’d plan, in honor of him, then do it. But you have enough pressures to deal with at the moment. You may think he’d have wanted it to go on, but do you think he’d have wanted to add the extra burden to you at this particular time? Don’t decide from shock and emotion.
You do what it takes to heal your family.
If you cancel or postpone, well, those who were coming may be disappointed but if they don’t understand, what kind of guest would they have been anyway?
Psalm 94:19 In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.
Shawn Kelly