Obituary of Robert Draper

 

Bob passed away unexpectedly, but peacefully. He was 65.

He was predeceased by his father, Richard, his mother, Joyce, and his cherished little sister, Nancy. He is survived by his brother, David (Anne), and his nieces, Nora (Mike) and Audrey (Will). He is remembered and loved by the Thompson and Stowell families, his Lake Arrowhead neighbors, especially the Garwood Gang, and the newest members of his extended family, Amy, Andrew, Chris, Max and Maeve.

Bob graduated from Morris Knolls High School in 1973. He was proud to have been part of the Morris Knolls marching band that performed in the Orange Bowl Parade in Miami, a big event for him and the school.

After attending the University of Bridgeport and Utica College, Bob returned to Denville. He started his own small landscaping business, providing personal, honest and tireless work for his clients. He loved learning about plants and took great pride in the properties he cared for, some of them for decades.

The landscaping work took a physical toll on Bob. He gradually wound the business down over the last few years and turned his energies to his own yard, bringing the plants his mother planted back to their glory.

He was an inventor who designed and built all kinds of contraptions – an airboat, an iceboat, the “bog buster,” and number of flying machines.  He was also a tinkerer who loved to come up with his own solutions – why buy it if you can fix it or make something that works just as well?

Bob did things his own way – always. He was a sweet, generous square peg in a world of round holes. As many people have said, Bob was Bob.

He will rest with his father, mother and sister in the Denville Cemetery. Due to the coronavirus, no formal events are being planned at this time.

In respect of Bob’s independent spirit, please remember him in your own way. Do something unexpectedly kind for someone else, feed a stray cat, or put up a bird feeder. Even better, build a bird feeder out of scrap wood and paint it in a way you think will make the birds happy. As Bob would.