Robert Moncrieff's Obituary
Robert Wynne Moncrieff (1925 – 2023)
October 21, 1925 – February 27, 2023
Robert (Bob) Moncrieff of Monte Sereno, California, passed away peacefully on February 27, 2023 at the age of 97. Bob will be remembered for his kind nature and rare sense of humor, his dedication to family and friends, his love of the natural world, his creativity, and his service both as a soldier in WWII and in his career as a pediatrician. He was dearly loved and will be greatly missed.
Bob was born in Elmira, New York, in 1925 to Veon and Agnes Moncrieff. They later moved to West Hartford, CT where he attended Kingswood Oxford School. He spent much of his youth exploring the fields and forests near home, developing an early bond with nature. Rumor has it he occasionally played hooky to do so.
After high school, Bob enlisted in the army and served in the Second World War as a member of the 1277th US Army Corp of Engineers. His division participated in the liberation of Vianden, Luxemburg. Later in life, he had the honor of twice revisiting that village and celebrating its liberation with the residents. Over the years, he also participated in several reunions with the soldiers he fought beside.
Bob attended Harvard University and Tufts Medical School where he graduated with high honors in Pediatrics. Combining his interest in medicine with his sense of humor, Bob was the cartoonist for the Harvard Lampoon and his university yearbooks. He completed a residency at Boston City Hospital where he met a young social worker, his future wife Lora Lee Lutes. After their wedding in 1958, they moved to Los Gatos, CA where they settled, cultivated a close-knit group of long-time friends, and lovingly raised three children.
Bob was one of the first pediatricians in Los Gatos, eventually establishing a practice with three colleagues. He cared for innumerable babies and children whose families long remembered his gentle way as their doctor. Later he made a transition to working in pediatrics for Santa Clara County. A lifelong learner, he studied Spanish during this time to better communicate with his Latino patients.
Bob was most at home in the natural world. He led family and friends on numerous backpacking and skiing adventures in the Sierras, with repeated visits to his beloved Virginia Canyon and Return Creek. He organized festive musseling forays of legendary fame at the beach. He was a fly fisherman, a mushroom hunter, a bird watcher, and a dipper in oceans and streams.
Bob was extraordinarily artistic and talented at engineering solutions in his surroundings. He enjoyed using his hands and was always working on a new idea. He painted many watercolors and made wood carvings depicting his favorite places and the flora and fauna he loved. He also wrote and illustrated a humorous book entitled “Anglerobics”, an irreverent take on the health benefits of fishing.
In his later years, Bob served as a docent for the Midpeninsula Open Space District. He did artwork for their publications and for the Nature Center at the Russian Ridge Preserve. He staffed the Nature Center and led groups of elementary school students on hikes to share his knowledge and love of the place.
Bob was a tireless advocate for the preservation of forests and trees. He spent the last decade of his life penning 74 letters to the editor, 44 of which were published in the San Jose Mercury News, the San Francisco Chronicle and other newspapers. The Sierra Club’s Forest Protection Committee modeled their training program for writing letters to the editor after his approach because he was so skilled at crafting new ways to speak for the trees. He believed forest health to be vital to human survival and was able to relate almost anything to the fight against clear cutting.
Bob was preceded in death by wife Lora Lee Moncrieff. He is survived by children Diane Moncrieff, Scott Moncrieff, and Alison Moncrieff; daughter-in-law Laura Moncrieff; sons-in-law Jonathan Vlaming and Dave Nash; grandchildren Ian, Nora, Forest and Duncan; brother-in-law Chris Lutes; and many nieces and nephews. As he wished, a memorial party to celebrate his life will be held later this spring. In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to the Sierra Club, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, or another environmental organization of choice.
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