Tributes

Robert Warren (Bob) Piccard died peacefully on the morning of Wednesday, March 6, 2024, under the gracious care of Big Bend Hospice and in the company of two of his sisters, Jane Piccard and Mary Piccard Vance. Bob lived a full life on his own terms. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and began receiving Hospice care in February of 2023. He outlived his prognosis, and with the good care of all the Hospice nurses, Physicians’ Assistants, and doctors, as well as the loving devotion of his sister Mary and her husband, James, was stable and living independently in his own home until the last two days of his life. Bob was born on April 24, 1948, in Minneapolis, the first of what would become five children of Betty and Paul Piccard. Following Paul’s higher education and work opportunities, the family moved to Austin, Texas and then to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, before settling in Tallahassee in 1953 when Paul became a member of the faculty in FSU’s Department of Political Science. Bob attended primary school and junior high at Blessed Sacrament, where he performed very well as a student despite chafing and occasionally rebelling against the strict rule of the Dominican nuns (among many other sources of authority; there may have been an incident in which Bob and a few friends, at age 14, “borrowed” a car from one friend’s father and Bob, who did not know how to drive, drove it into the concrete ditch at Leon Field). After Ninth grade, Bob entered Florida High School, where he found inspiration and motivation from his teachers and classmates. He was tall, handsome, and had a deep baritone voice. What's not to love? He was popular, talented, and a leader, and he never stopped pushing (and crossing) the boundaries and rules that he thought were ridiculous; there were many. After high school Bob spent one year at the University of Florida before dropping out in 1967 to enlist in the army. He did two tours in Viet Nam. When his military service was completed, Bob finished his degree at UF and went to work for the Eckerd Youth Foundation, living in the wilderness with “pre-delinquent” boys. He changed the lives of many boys and maintained close friendships with many of his co-workers for the rest of his life. Bob then spent thirty years in Vermont as the sole caretaker of a mentally disabled man who would otherwise have spent his life institutionalized. Bob provided a stable and supportive home for that man. He always made the world a better place for everyone. Bob was apparently born a rebel, and he remained a rebel until the day he died. He was smart, thoughtful, funny, and kind. He was extremely well-read, and he traveled the world, not as a tourist but as a student of humanity. He cared deeply about social justice. Nobody who ever met Bob forgot him. We will never forget him and we will miss him forever. Bob is preceded in death by his parents, Paul and Betty Piccard, and his brother John Piccard, whose wife, Geraldine Piccard, survives John. Bob is survived by his three sisters: Jane Piccard (husband Hunt Greene), Mary Piccard Vance (husband James), and Ann Piccard (husband Charles Reischmann); his nieces and nephews: Dylan Vance, Christopher Piccard Greene (wife Julie), Brennan Piccard Greene (wife Natasha), Elizabeth Piccard Reischmann, Mary Piccard Reischmann, and Paul Piccard Reischmann; great nephew Alex Vance, and great nieces Zadie Vance, and Kaleesi and Lilly Greene. A memorial service will will be held at Holy Comforter Episcopal Church in Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday, April 13, 2024 at 11:30 AM. If you wish to remember Bob in some tangible way, please direct donations to Second Harvest of the Big Bend, or Big Bend Hospice. Breanna Green of Bevis Funeral Home (850-385-2193 or www.bevisfh.com) is assisting the family with their arrangements.

Tributes

Robert Warren Piccard

April 24, 1948 - March 6, 2024