United Banks Service Company

Obituary & Remembrances: Bob Atwater

From the "Denver Newspaper Agency" , Friday, May 30, 2008 edition:

Atwater, Robert G.
Survived by his wife, Linda. Stepfather of Alan (Kathy) Terry, Theresa (Robert) Sanford, Aaron (Stacy) Terry, & Adam & Andrew Terry. Also survived by his mother, Alice, sister Karen (Bob) Homan, brother John Atwater, 8 grandchildren.

Memorial Service Saturday, May 31, 11:00 AM at Christ The King Episcopal Church, Arvada. Flowers & Contributions suggested to the church.

Published in the Denver Newspaper Agency on 5/30/2008.

Here are some memories from Bob's co-workers at Wells Fargo:

I will always remember how supportive and likable Bob was. He will be missed by all of us here at the service company, especially the United Banks Service Company (UBSC) alumni who have worked with him a long time.
-- Paula Grady

Bob's was a voice that I always enjoyed hearing on the phone. Working remote in Texas I never had the opportunity to meet him in person. Bob and I worked on some projects together and also some production problems together and I always enjoyed the opportunity to talk to him. We had had some fun discussions. He brightened everyones day.
-- Ken Butler, Plano, Texas

I met Bob back in 1988 when we both worked on the loans system for United Banks. Bob was a developer and I was a tester and we had many heated discussions on how a solution should work. We enjoyed the debate and always came to a mutual agreement. Bob and I challenged each other to improve technically and we were always available to review the others code and give guidance. In the United Bank days we had team Holiday lunches and Company picnics. The Holiday lunches tended to end long after the dinner hour, and Bob was always one of the last to leave. He was the life of the party and could always make everyone laugh. Bob was a very competitive volleyball player and the first time we played in a game I was surprised by how quick he could move. One had to get out of Bobs way or pay the consequences. Bob was a joy to work with and I am grateful to have known him. I will miss Bob immensely.
-- Lynnette Harman

As Bob's manager, I got used to the way he liked to work. Often, he would come in later in the morning, have "lunch" at 3:00 PM, and go home at 8:00PM. But if I was at home and needed somebody to look at something on the system right away, I always knew he'd be here later than anyone else.

A couple of times I was able to pull the "stinky onion" trick on Bob. This is where you get a deli sandwich and they put those nasty, stinky, red onions on the sandwich that smell so bad you can't eat them. I just hated to have those rotten things in my trash basket, so I used to put them in Bob's basket. He would get up and walk over to my office and say "What is it that smells so bad around here"? We'd go look at the onions in his trash and he'd say "I wonder where those came from?" I'm pretty sure he knew, but he didn't want to call me a bad name.

What I remember most in the last two years is how happy he'd look when we got him another Starbuck's gift card. That little look of bewilderment that said "for me?" and then the little twinkle in his eyes as he realized it was true and he could use it for whatever he wanted. That's the way I'm going to remember Bob, as a guy who was happy to get the littlest nice surprise. And sorry about the onions, buddy.
-- Michael Stone

I worked with Bob back in the eighties, in the good ol' days of United Banks Service Company. We both worked in the loans application development and support team. Joanne Schirm was our manager. Those were rather care free days, well suited for our band of coffee shop misfits. It was this coffee shop group, that Bob was such a part of, where I really got to know him as a friend for the next twenty some years. The coffee shop produced wonderful 'debate' on the sports topic of the day, generated more then a few 'friendly wagers' and was the source of determining who would hold the cup as 'worst golfer at UBSC'. Bob recognized his short-comings as a golfer, but his competitive nature forced him to the course time and again to attempt to rid himself of the cursed cup. He did so with his always calm manner and gentle humor. And that's how I'll remember him, a kind and gentle man that let me call him friend...
-- John Mandley

I started working at the Wells Fargo Tech Center location in January of 2000. I moved into the cubicle right across from Bob. He was a very quiet man and as the new kid on the block I wasn't talkative either. We probably sat next to each other for almost a year before we started chatting, but once we did, that was all it took to form our friendship. We talked about our family, friends, sports, music and yes, even our dogs. As for his family and friends, I feel like I know many of them personally. He talked about them frequently and they were all very important to him.

Here are just a few of my fondest memories of working with Bob and having him as my friend:

I came in to work early and Bob came in late. Every day he had his cup of coffee and a snicker doodle from Starbucks. I would know he had finally arrived just by the sound of the cookie wrapper being opened, which also let me know that it was almost time for the girls daily walk. He became our weather man, and before we would head out for our walk, he would let us know if it was a sweatshirt, t-shirt or tank top day. I would always leave the office before he did and everyday he would listen for my computer to play the shut down sound and he would turn to me and say, "It's that time already? I just got back from lunch."

I always knew when he was working on a problem because the earphones would come out so he could listen to his music. When the earphones came off I knew he had solved the problem.

Bob and I were alike in the fact that we both liked to sleep-in and our spouses did not. By Wednesday afternoon one of us would remind the other that we only had two more get ups before we could sleep in. When Bob was not able to come to the office he would still check in with me every week and ask me, how many more get ups?

Whenever I didn't hear from him I would track him down to make sure he was doing okay. One time recently when he had not checked in I finally called Linda's cell phone and I reached them at the airport. They had just returned from a visit with the grandkids. I will never forget the joy in his voice when he told me all about that trip. They went to a show, on a safari, and he learned all about Rock Band. And, thanks to the newest game craze, WII (wee) he was able to bowl, which was one of his very favorite things to do. He truly enjoyed himself and loved spending the quality time with his family.

I have had numerous people stop by to talk to me about Bob in the last couple of days and one thing that was said that sticks out the most is that he was a great man with a kind soul and nothing could describe him better.

Bob was not just a teammate, or a neighbor, he was my friend, a true friend. I am really going to miss you buddy.
-- Karen Douglas

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