Robert Charles Kohler III
Fayetteville, AR
1957 - 2017
Excerpts from obituary:
Robert Charles Kohler III, AIA, age 60, died on November 28, 2017, at Willard Walker Hospice House in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2005, Bob ferociously fought the disease alongside brilliant researchers, doctors and nurses as well as dedicated family and friends. Through 12 years of treatment, he weathered a remarkable five stem cell transplantations ...
Born in Dallas, Texas, Bob attended Saint Marks School, Dallas; graduated from Episcopal High School, Alexandria, Virginia; earned a Bachelor of Architecture at Tulane University, New Orleans; and a Master of Business Administration at Southern Methodist University, Dallas.
As a boy, Bob spent his summers at the Brook Hollow Golf Club and the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club where his parents met. For many summers, Bob was the assistant tennis pro at the Dallas Country Club where he developed a lifelong love of the game and a wicked cross-court backhand ...
Bob first expressed his entrepreneurial spirit as half of a two-boy troupe known as The Great Fitzwillies performing magic shows at children's parties and later as the creator of City Golf in Dallas's West End District, the Southwest's first indoor miniature golf course. From there he founded Kohler Golf Design and completed golf projects in eleven cities including Dallas, New York, Washington, DC, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Phoenix, Raleigh and Little Rock. When not working, Bob motored around Dallas in his classic VW bus with his laidback basset hound, Woodrow.
Bob's architectural career began in Dallas at Beran & Shelmire Architects where he worked on iconic buildings including the San Jacinto Tower and the Anatole Hotel and later with Trammell Crow Design where he contributed to the design development of hotel properties in Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, Houston, Durham and Pittsburgh. During this time Bob was a member of both Idlewild and Terpsichorean, men's social clubs, where he developed many lifelong friendships.
Bob left Dallas in 2000 to make Fayetteville, Arkansas his home. He embraced his new community through volunteer work, first with the Delta Society with his beloved basset hound and therapy dog Otis, then on the City of Fayetteville's Board of Adjustments and later on The New School Board of Trustees where he served on the Building and Grounds Committee. His was a key voice on the Campus Master Planning Committee that informed the construction of the Academic, Innovation and Athletic Centers.
Bob was energized by his engagements with the world of architecture at all levels, both educational and professional. He was a member of the Northwest section of the Arkansas chapter of the American Institute of Architects serving as an officer and Chair. For many years he taught the Professional Practice course at University of Arkansas' Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design ...
Bob was a founding Board member of TheatreSquared, Northwest Arkansas' only year-round professional theater, and was intimately involved in the planning for the design and construction of an architecturally significant building designed by Marvel Architects now in progress in the entertainment district in Fayetteville ...
Bob is survived by his wife, Laura Goodwin and son, Owen Goodwin Kohler of Fayetteville; by his mother, Diane (Burgher) Enholm of Dallas; and sisters, Robin Stieber of Colorado Springs, Joan McGraw of Dallas, their families and many friends. He was preceded in death by his father, Robert Charles Kohler Jr. of Carmel, California ...
A memorial service is planned in Starr Theater at Walton Arts Center on Saturday, January 13, 2018 at 2 p.m. ...
From NWA Online: http://www.nwaonline.com/obituaries/2017/dec/12/robert-kohler-iii-2017-12-12/
- Bob Kohler
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