The eulogy of Robert Skinner below was given at a memorial service at CSUN on March 24, 2007.

Robert Carl Skinner

October 30, 1922 - March 12, 2007

Robert Carl (Bob) Skinner passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday, March 12, 2007. He was 84. He was born in Independence, Missouri, on October 30, 1922; he and his twin brother Roger, Jr., were the sons of Roger and Jessie Skinner.

According to Joan, surviving wife of Bob, both Bob and Roger, Jr., were born deaf. Their father, Roger, Sr., worked for a hardware store in Independence. The owner of the store and his wife fell in love with the twin boys and decided to support their expensive education at the Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) in St. Louis, Missouri, knowing that the twin boys’ parents could not afford it. Their mother, Jessie, was a teacher at the public school in Independence. She enrolled the boys at CID when the boys were three years old. She became interested in deaf education, and she eventually studied deaf education at the Washington University, of which CID was affiliated with. She graduated from the Washington University and trained at CID. She became a successful English teacher who was greatly admired by her students.

Just before the boys’ graduation at CID in 1938, their father and Jessie’s two sisters drove to St. Louis to attend the graduation ceremony. Their mother had been seriously ill for a month before she underwent a surgery. She was allowed to attend the ceremony but had to return to the hospital. The boys returned home to Independence with their aunts while their father remained in St. Louis to be with their mother.

After the boys’ graduation, the mother agreed to remain on the faculty at CID and did so long after the boys had gone on to high school and college. The boys were raised by their father and two aunts. Their mother had eight sisters and no brother. She became the head of the Rotating Department (older student department) at CID and Dean of Women in CID’s Training Teacher Program. She retired in 1960 after 30 years of service. Bob and Roger went to visit her annually, and they became well-known and loved by everyone.

The boys attended William Chrisman High School in Independence, and they were able to keep pace in their studies, sports, and various activities with other students. They played on football and basketball squads where they won school letters and honors. The boys were members of the National Honor Society and the National Scholastic Athletic Honor Society – the boys were among one percent of the 360 students at the school to make the National Honor Society. The boys graduated in 1942 and attended Tri-State College in Angola, Indiana, where they completed the four year aeronautical engineering program with top honors and received degrees. They were members of Alpha Sigma Phi, an educational foundation fraternity. Bob played basketball in college and became an expert bowler. Bob felt that his experience in college taught him to be a happy and successful man for the rest of his life.

Just before his graduation from college in 1945 he was offered a job at Lockheed Aircraft Company in Burbank, California. After working there for a year, Bob got laid off. There were massive layoffs at Lockheed, possibly due to the fact that the war’s end led to the cancellation of many military contracts and many servicemen returning home. Bob’s supervisor contacted someone at Northrop Aircraft Company, and immediately Bob was offered a job. Roger followed later as he was hired as a mathematician in stress analysis where he worked on “Flying Wings” for 39 years. It was at Northrop where Bob met his first wife, Lillian Hahn; he married her in 1950. They had three daughters.

In April 1981, the twins were honored at Northrop and received the Governors Award from the Goodwill Industries of Southern California in a special ceremony for outstanding service on behalf of the handicapped. Bob helped develop Northrop’s data processing. Bob and Roger both played on the Northrop basketball team which won the 1954 interplant championship.

Bob devoted his time and effort during his off hours to help other deaf people. He was very active in the Far West Athletic Association of the Deaf, and he served as the President of the Los Angeles Club for ten years, as the Treasurer for eleven years, as the Athletic Director, and on the Board of Directors. He was the Secretary-Treasurer for the Hollywood Club for the Deaf, State Treasurer for the California Association of the Deaf (CAD) in 1969, Treasurer of the San Fernando Valley Chapter of the Association, a delegate from California to the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), the Tournament Chairman, and the Chairman of the Convention Program Book in 1962, Gymnasium in 1963, performed drama on the stage in a play called “A Play of Our Own” at Kaiser Center in 1975, and at the California State University at Northridge in 1976. He was a coach in the Far West Athletic Association of the Deaf (FAAD) basketball tournaments in 1970-75, Secretary of FAAD in 1981, Tickets in 1985, General Chairman of Softball Tourney in 1991, and more. He participated in bowling leagues for many years and received trophies and prizes.

The Los Angeles Club basketball team won the Far West regional title over 16 other clubs in California, Nevada, and Arizona and went on to win the National Championship in Boston in 1973. Bob took his vacation at that time in order to accompany and help the team. When he was no longer a player, he was still an avid basketball fan. He traveled in his RV all over the country visiting old friends, including those from CID.

In 1970’s Bob taught math and data processing in the deaf special education programs at the California State University at Northridge (CSUN) where he also enrolled and received a MBA degree. He also took computer courses.

Bob was on the Board of Meetings at the California Home Aged for Deaf (CHAD) for about ten years, until he resigned due to his health. His wife Lillian was also active as a secretary for the American Athletic Association of the Deaf (AAAD) and FAAD basketball tournaments and deaf clubs. She served as a president and vice president several times. She was the first woman to become a tourney chairman for AAAD and inducted into the AAAD Hall of Fame in 1983. She was an elementary school teacher, and she passed away in July 2000 due to cancer.

On March 24, 2007, as Bob wished, his memorial service was held at CSUN. He is survived by his beloved second wife, Joan Jessup Cummins, a 1950 graduate of CID; his three daughters, Kathy Flack, Mary Ann Price, and Roberta Raymond; and six grandchildren; and Joan’s two children, Parke Cummins and Amy Jo Vasquez; and five great grandchildren.

Bob was a gifted gentleman with a fun, generous, and loving spirit. We rejoice in his life and the wonderful memories that those who knew him cherish. He was a wonderful husband and best friend of Joan. He will be very sorely missed forever.