By Scott McCart
Robert A. Meade was a very family-oriented guy. He spent his days working at Rensselaer as a gardener with the Environmental and Site Services department and then he spent his off time at home with his loved ones. He had three children, Michael, Kelly, and Laura, and he really made them a focus in his life. Whether it was going to their sporting events one day, and fishing the next, he made sure there was never a moment in his kids’ lives that he missed. One of the proudest moments that he had was when all three of his children decided to go to the same college. This gave him an overwhelming amount of joy knowing his three kids were close and together. Along with his children, he had a companion dog named Derby. Robert could be seen on any occasion walking Derby through the neighborhood. One thing that he always looked forward to was lunch dates with his mom. This was a time where he was able to catch up with her and spend the quality time that he enjoyed so much. One activity that Robert also really enjoyed was analyzing horse racing forms. This was a main topic of discussion that he would enjoy bringing up and talking about with his friends.
He had a great sense of humor that couldn’t go unnoticed by anyone. There were many times when in the break room at Rensselaer where his jokes would make you shake your head in disbelief, and then end with a room full of laughter.
Aside from his family life, Rob was sure to be a good mentor for all of those around him at RPI. He was a hard worker who made sure that he took new employees under his wing and taught them the fundamentals of working in the Grounds Department. More specifically, he took pride in ensuring that everyone knew how to properly run and operate the Ventrac Tractor.
In all, Rob was a good father, friend, son, and support system to those around him. His presence will be missed tremendously, but we will remember all the good that he brought to us.
