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104 North Laurel,
Suite 104
Port Angeles, WA 98362
Phone (360) 417-1815
Fax: (360) 457-1089
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Designated Memorial

In memory of Robert “Bob” Baldwin  (1930-2010), a life guided thus:  “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it has to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”   Henry David Thoreau

Long before Earth Day and Al Gore, Bob Baldwin was working tirelessly to champion the causes of this earth and its inhabitants: he loved, cared for, and worked on behalf of the waters, the skies, trees, and creatures of every genus, phylum and order.

At the tender age of 16, Bob was exposed to the problem of white pine blister rust, and worked consecutive summers for the US Forest Service in a program designed to eradicate or control the disease. An eager, receptive, determined mind had been captured. Armed with a degree in Forestry from the University of Idaho (1955), and following a period of employment with Potlach Timber Company of Idaho, a yearning to share his knowledge sent him back to Western Washington University for a degree in Education in 1962. Thus doubly armed and capable, Bob made forays into the field of primary education at Jefferson Elementary School, later as Naturalist for Olympic National Park at Kalaloch, Lake Crescent and Sol Duc.

Upon his move to Port Angeles in 1963, a search for the perfect home was satisfied when Bob purchased the MacNammara homestead of an Elwha pioneer family. Supported in his labors by continued self-education and native reverence for the forests, drawn by the mysteries of the natural sciences, in awe of the celestial, Bob now taught by demonstration.

At home was the gathering of firewood while protecting the forest; creating and maintaining noninvasive trails; restoring, and improving upon the functionality of the homestead house with reclaimed materials of the era and style for “the little brown house” on Herrick Road.

In public Bob drew others to his vision by firmly and gently coaching halting steps to re-engage with a wilderness he treasured: placing a novice boot to each successive foothold with summit, view, exhilaration, triumph! The pride of achievement and joy of place could only help lead others to engage, serve and protect this wilderness for us all. Sad indeed, that Bob’s life ended before the eagerly-anticipated and longed-for return of native salmon to the magic and mysteries of the Elwha.

Bob was joined in his life pursuits in 1970 by Bobbie (Roberta) Skerbeck and thus two lives expanded over 40 years of trials and triumphs: Bob and Bobbie tilled straight and meandering rows; paddled canoes in rough and placid waters; hiked and climbed o’er peaks and valleys; pedaled and coasted to what has so sadly now, become a solo journey for the woman who made much of Bob’s accomplishments transcend the pedestrian to the sublime. How does one carry on with such a loss? By having seized the opportunities of today, of having few or no regrets for love not expressed in word or deed.

Bob was born on August 21, 1930 to Wanda Edwina (Wood) and Clarence Lester Baldwin in Eugene, Oregon. He died of metastatic carcinoid at age 79, in the early morning hours of May 14, 2010. He is survived by his sister Wanda (Don) Doran of University Place, WA; by his brother Bill (Gerri) Baldwin of Auburn, WA, and by his sister Bonnie (Vic) Martin of Sumner, WA.