Hanover, N.H. —
Bob died at DHMC’s Dorothy Byrne Hospice Center on Saturday, June 23, 2018, just five weeks short of his 97th birthday. His was a life journey that, for many of those whom we honor in America’s “Greatest Generation,” took Bob through the lean years of the 1930s, the defense of our American freedoms in World War II, the building of a dynamic nation in the post-war years, the love of family and the lasting commitment to community, in all endeavors.
Growing up in Ohio as the third, and youngest, child of Nan Field and John H. Field – Dartmouth-Class of 1914, Bob learned, early on, the value of self-reliance, hard work and thrift.
The Great Depression hurt Ohioans especially hard. John Field saw five different businesses of his go under during those lean times. At various times, Bob and his sister Nancy attended four different high schools.
Young Bob was an excellent student who loved to read and to problem-solve, strengths that would follow him to his finals days. He also loved the outdoors, especially those treasured times in summer when, despite the pressures of making ends meet, the family would pack up their old Ford and motor “Down East” to Bob’s Aunt Alice and Uncle Lawrence Wyman’s home in Augusta, Maine. Uncle Lawrence was an avid outdoorsman, and he took a special interest in guiding Bob and his older brother Jack on fly-fishing trips.
Back home in Ohio, when brother Jack headed off to Dartmouth and sister Nancy to Bates College, Field family funds were stretched even thinner. To fulfill his own dream of heading for the “College on the Hill”, Bob took a year off after high school to work double-shifts at a copper wire factory in Tiffin, Ohio saving up for school. Finally, in September, 1939, he hopped a train bound for White River Junction, arriving at Dartmouth as a member of the entering Class of 1943 with one broken-down suitcase, a single pair of pants and a hunger for learning.
As a Dean List undergrad, Bob hoped to enter Amos Tuck School, and from there embark on a career in business. But, on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, upon leaving The Nugget Theater with some pals, he heard the word on the street…”Pearl Harbor” had been attacked. Bob joined the U.S. Navy and trained as a lieutenant with the U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School at the Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
Like something out of a Cary Grant movie, Bob’s first deployment was as commander of a Navy “YP,” a converted yacht (formerly known as the “Hermana”) that the Navy had leased to join a make-shift flotilla of armed tuna boats and yachts defending San Diego harbor against potential enemy submarine incursion.
While in San Diego, Bob met, and soon after married, Pauline Sharp, a talented actress recruited by the Pasadena Playhouse, then working as a secretary for the Defense Dept.
In February, 1945, Lt. Robert Field was transferred to duty aboard the USS Yarnall, a “Fletcher Class” destroyer that would see action off Iwo Jima. On Sept. 2, 1945, Bob was second in command aboard the Yarnall when it steamed into Tokyo Bay with the U.S. 3rd Fleet for the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, ending the Second World War.
After the war, Bob, wife Pauline and young son Bob, Jr. made their way across country to Hanover and a return to Dartmouth. There, Bob completed his MBA program at Amos Tuck School.
In 1949, the family moved to Levittown, L.I., and Bob began what would be a 32 year career as a CPA with the New York office of Price Waterhouse & Co.
In early 1952, the young Field family, now with sister Kathleen on board, journeyed to Britain, with two other PW families, for a six-month exchange program with the London office of Price Waterhouse.
Returning to Levittown, Bob and Pauline’s third child, and second son Peter, joined the roster in June, 1953,
In 1954, the Field Family moved to Salem Center, N.Y., and shortly thereafter to Croton Falls, N.Y. (two towns which, along with Purdy’s Station, constitute North Salem Township).
In 1960, Bob became a partner with Price Waterhouse. From 1960- 1983, Bob and Pauline Field were known for their tireless dedication to the four communities of North Salem Township, the Purdy’s Methodist Church and the development of the, then, new Pequenakonck Elementary School .
During the late ‘60s through the mid-‘70s, Bob and Pauline traveled the world as ambassadors in Bob’s post as Deputy Sr. Partner with the International Firm of Price Waterhouse. They delighted friends and family with their stories, slides and films covering travels to Hong Kong, Beijing, the Philippines, Australia, Europe and the Middle East.
Retiring from Price Waterhouse in 1981, Bob and Pauline moved to Etna, N.H. and two years later to Hanover. While Pauline became a mainstay with the formation of Dartmouth’s ILEAD program, and with David Gowdy at the Montshire Museum, Bob won election to Dartmouth’s Board of Trustees. As a tireless contributor to the Class of 1943, Bob became the recipient of Dartmouth’s Alumni Award. Bob later served for six years as Vice President and Treasurer for the College.
In addition, and at various times, Bob served the College as Chairman of the Trustees’ Council on Investor Responsibility, representative to the Board of Overseers of Thayer School, Chairman of the Board of Overseers of the Tuck School, and as a key member of the DHMC Board of Trustees charged with fund-raising and development of the present-day DHMC complex in Lebanon.
Bob loved attending Dartmouth College athletic events; especially Dartmouth “Big Green” Football. He also became a regular at “Hanover Green Machine” baseball games, a Little League team coached by his son Bob, Jr.
Bob, Sr. and son Peter devoted many hours to their top-notch Tower Hill Farm greenhouse tomato-growing venture in Brimfield, Mass. And, Bob continued to pursue his passion for fly-fishing, both locally and with daughter Kathleen (Field) Fischer’s family, and the entire Field/Fischer clan, at Livingston Lake, N.Y. as cherished guests of Dartmouth alum and PW partner Bill Hutchens and his wife Carol.
A voracious reader of history and biography, Bob also loved playing cards. A cracker-jack cribbage player, Bob was also a regular with frequent poker night’s hosted by retired Dartmouth professor Jerry Danielle. Bob was a master at “7 card stud high low” . No wonder one of his favorite movies was Steve McQueen’s “Cincinnati Kid.”
Known for his consummate dry wit, and never-faltering dedication to family, his many friends, Dartmouth College, and both the Hanover and North Salem, N.Y. communities, Bob Field, Sr’ s energies, insights and unique ability to problem-solve will be sorely missed.
Bob Field, Sr. is predeceased by his wife Pauline (1998). He is survived by his three children – Bob Field, Jr., Kathleen Fischer and Peter Field; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
A celebration of Bob Field, Sr.’s life is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 17 at Rollins Chapel on the Dartmouth campus. Donations in memory of Robert E. Field, Sr. may be sent to the John H. Field Memorial Scholarship Fund, Dartmouth College, Gift Recording Office, 6066 Development Office, Hanover, NH 03755.
To view an online memorial and or send a message of condolence to the family, please visit, www.rand-wilson.com.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Rand-Wilson Funeral Home of Hanover.