Robert "Bob" Hart

Bob Hart (Robert Charles Hart) embarked on his final journey into the cosmos on Super Bowl Sunday, just before kickoff on February 9, 2025. In life, he followed his own playbook, and he departed as if by design.

Bob leaves behind his life of family, friends, love, art, and travel.

He loved: his family; his friends; art; buying bargains in bulk; Africa; Thanksgiving; his country; young people; travel; teaching; learning; all things unique. He saw no thing that could not be made art. He was never closer to his truest self than in the act of creation. 

He lived: spreading happiness, helping others at no charge with financial decisions, travel advice, and doling out encouraging words and deeds. Some long-established habits included: putting up Christmas lights; sending Christmas cards with his original art on each; collecting shoes and hats and shirts; being a world class listener; devising solutions to the problems people brought to him; hosting Bulldog game days in his home theater; making and mostly giving away his art; and avoiding fruits and vegetables. 

Even in his final days, his renewal passport sat waiting in his study, a testament to his ever-curious, adventurous spirit. He experienced the world deeply from perspectives of hot air balloons to icebergs. Though not intending to, he showed us how to face mortality with grace and courage.

Bob’s home was an art museum. The walls were galleries of outsider artists he had admired and supported, purchasing their work, and occasionally buying them supplies. Visitors were struck by the display, and it stopped first-time viewers in their tracks. As for his own art, it was “happy art.” He loved making it and sharing it and never took himself too seriously. If it sparked joy, that was enough. 

He reinforced his guiding principles every year by re-reading "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and "The Power of Positive Thinking."

Maybe you walked his 9-11 Memorial Trail recalling the tragedy of that day as he hoped you would, never forgetting. Perhaps you saw his artwork on an Athens billboard or on the walls of the Lyndon House in a juried show. Or was it he you saw in the front row of the Performing Arts Center or the Classic Center where he had season tickets and rarely passed up a performance? He was faithful and appreciated and encouraged every performer. A generous supporter of the Town and Gown Players, he celebrated the sincere efforts of the talented, earnest amateurs which never failed to entertain.

Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on November 5, 1948, the second of three sons of Kenneth and Helen Hart, he never lost traces of that birthright. Rome, Georgia, was his hometown while growing up. He was the middle child and Northerner and demonstrated the traits of reserve and rectitude. You could spot that Yankee heritage at Thanksgiving with a buffet that included, along with traditional Southern fare: white bread dressing, canned cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes. 

Bob was big at 6’4” and that went for his heart, hands, and feet (size 14). Maybe it was his size that made him a kid magnet. Certainly, it was his big heart and aura of safety that attracted young people who sought him out. Maybe it was the boy in him that never grew up that they recognized. He was a mentor to a succession of young people who came to depend on his good judgment and advice.

“I never worked a day in my life,’’ Bob could be heard to say. He loved every job he had. Two occupations of which he was particularly proud were his four years of active-duty Air Force and then as a fourth-grade teacher, always the student favorite. He was also a teacher of teachers at UGA, instructing them in the use of technology in the classroom. He established the first statewide distance learning program (GSAMS) and was the Director of the Office of Information Technology for the College of Education at the University of Georgia. He believed his membership as a fraternity brother of Phi Kappa Theta at UGA prepared him for adulthood. His three degrees were from the University of Georgia and Texas Tech University.

Generosity was his essence. He shared his talents and passions and wisdom. He supported his friends. He encouraged the young. He loved his family and his wife. And he was loved in return.

If you did not know Bob, you missed one of the finest of humans. If you did, well, you know.

Bob was predeceased by his parents, Helen and Kenneth, his older brother, David, and sister-in-law, Connie Hart. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Dr. Nancy Coleman Hart; his brother, Paul Hart, and Paul’s children Katie and Andrew (Angie). He is also survived by Susan Coleman Fedor, William Coleman (Anne), Mary Leon Coleman and her daughter, Emma Kornegay (Soren and their sons, Malcolm and Theo).

To honor his life, A Thanksgiving for Bob Hart will be held on Sunday, March 2, 2025, 2pm, at “1055 Barber Street,” Athens, Georgia.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to:

• Town & Gown Players, www.townandgownplayers.org or send to Town and Gown Players, PO Box 565, Athens, Georgia 30601;

• Oglethorpe County Schools through the Athens Area Community Foundation at https://athensareacf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=4762 or mailed to the Athens Area Community Foundation at PO Box 1543, Athens, GA 30601 "Oglethorpe County Schools" in the memo line; 

• a charity/organization of one’s choice.

Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, EAST, Athens is entrusted with arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com.