Robert (Bob) Leopold, 93 years old, passed away peacefully at home in Livingston, New Jersey. Bob, a true gentleman, could be described by many roles, including husband, father, grandfather, volunteer, veteran, Mayor, engineer, among others. Bob grew up in Weehawken and Union City, New Jersey. He had fond memories of his years attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where he obtained both his bachelors and masters in electrical engineering, interrupted by his enlistment in the U.S. Navy to join the efforts to defeat the Nazis in World War II. On his first day of combat duty, he says, the Nazis promptly surrendered. Bob once hoped for a naval career but did not obtain acceptance to the Naval Academy at Annapolis. (Bob had said that he could not get the required nomination from his congressional representative or senator because he was Jewish.)
Bob’s early career took him back to sea. He joined Bell Laboratories and developed technologies for sub-sea communications cables. His photos of codfish examining massive cables under the ocean and a model of the submersible camera system sat by his desk at Bell Labs and then in his home office long after he retired after more than 40 years of service. However, the most important aspect of his time at Bell Labs was his introduction to a young mathematician and his future wife, Iris.
Iris and Bob moved from an apartment in Elizabeth with their new baby, Rebecca, to settle in Livingston in 1959. Rebecca was joined a few years later by her siblings, Debby and Simon. Family was a priority, and it showed, especially in his unwavering support of his children. In addition to the children, Bob loved dogs. His first was Duchess, the greyhound of his childhood, followed by Merlin, Cleo, Droste, and Emma. He spent decades researching family genealogy and collecting stories. If you were lucky, you were a recipient of his annual newsletter about the family, aptly titled “The Procrastinator’s Times.” Absolutely central to his core was a commitment to social justice. He was a staunch opponent of the Vietnam War and a strong supporter of the civil rights movement. Certainly, there were many protests and marches under his belt. He was an early activist for Fair Housing initiatives. In the late 1960s, he was one of the founders of a group called “PYMWYMI” (Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is), which called upon local ...
