It is with deep sadness that we inform you that our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, Robert Watson, 78, passed away at his home on September 19, 2022.

Bob was a loving husband to Laura (nee Hemwall), his wife of 54 years, father to his sons, Anders (Allison) and Brendan, and doting grandfather to Joan, Maroun, Henrik, and Helen.

Bob grew up outside of Buffalo, the middle son of the late Ira and Joan (nee Secord). Bob learned his work ethic from his mother, who worked multiple jobs so that Bob and his brothers, Ronald and Richard (Janet), could attend Wheaton College (Illinois). At Wheaton, Bob met Laura while they participated in American University’s Washington Semester Program.

In 1967, Bob enrolled at the University of Chicago Law School. During the Vietnam War, Bob took two years off to teach fifth grade in the Elgin, Illinois, public schools. He completed his law degree in 1972 and went on to clerk for the Hon. Richard McLaren of the United States District Court for Northern Illinois. Bob joined Sidley Austin in 1974 and became a partner in the Litigation practice group in 1978.

At Sidley, Bob served on the Professional Responsibility, Pro Bono, and Public Interest Law Committees and was the former Chairperson of the Chicago Bar Association Large Law Firm Committee. He was a staunch advocate of professional responsibility and ethics, and generous mentor to junior attorneys inside and outside the firm. He argued cases in state and federal courts, including appeals in the federal circuit courts, the Illinois Supreme Court, and the Illinois Appellate Court. Bob’s colleagues remember and admired him for his “zealous advocacy as well as his broad interests outside the law.”

Never one to slow down, after Bob retired in 2009, he was a generous philanthropist and volunteered his time and legal experience with Human Rights Watch, Restore Justice, and pro bono representation of veterans. He was passionate about liberal politics, campaigned door-to-door, and served as an election observer.

Bob was a proud Chicagoan and a longtime supporter of numerous cultural and civic institutions, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Humanities Festival, and numerous theater groups. He was also a past Trustee at Fourth Presbyterian Church.

Bob loved music and could be found at late night sets at the Green Mill. This past spring, he and Laura attended their first four-day music festival, the eclectic Big Ears in Knoxville. And over Labor Day weekend, he took his son and grandson to the Chicago Jazz Festival to see saxophonist Miguel Zenon, from whom Bob and Laura had commissioned an original composition for Chicago’s Spektral Quartet.

Bob also loved to sail. Many summer evenings and weekends the family was on their sailboat on Lake Michigan. Some of his sons’ earliest and fondest memories are of watching the Chicago July 3rd fireworks from the sailboat in Monroe Harbor before leaving at dawn on July 4th to sail across the lake to southwest Michigan. When the wind died, he stubbornly refused to use the boat’s engine and would quip, “Boredom builds character.”

Like his mother, Bob was invested in his sons’ intellectual development, expanding their worldview, and encouraging critical thinking. A voracious reader and follower of current events, he frequently started dinner conversation with, “Do you know what I read in the New York Times today?” which always made his sons groan and roll their eyes. He was proud that Anders followed him into law and Brendan became a journalist.

Bob and Laura also took the family on exciting vacations and they travelled the world in their retirement. Fine dining was one thing Bob did not have a problem spending money on and Michelin-starred meals were always a highlight of his various travels. He loved his visits to see Anders and Allison in Toulouse and the surrounding French countryside. He did not speak a foreign language but was convinced that his appreciation of good food bridged different cultures and endeared him to the French in particular.

Bob was also an excellent cook, and he and Laura loved to entertain in what some friends called the “Watson Salon.” Instead of sending the boys to entertain themselves, Bob and Laura encouraged them to participate in these dinners, exposing them to lively debate and many different viewpoints. Their neighbor and friend, Studs Terkel, was a frequent dinner guest. Bob was instrumental in getting Studs’ recordings digitized and they are now available to the public through the Studs Terkel Radio Archive at WFMT (https://studsterkel.wfmt.com/)

Through his travels, Bob took photographs on all seven continents and maintained a curated gallery of his photography (https://bit.ly/robertgallery) His favorite subjects were his grandchildren of whom he was very proud. On visits and vacations, he would often have his camera out first thing in the morning before making Swedish “Papa” pancakes for the grandkids. When he returned from these visits, he often told his friends that he did not mean to take so many pictures, but he could not help himself. 

Bob lived life fully and on his terms. His family describes Bob’s approach to life as “more is better.” Later in life he took more interest in his physical wellbeing and he threw himself into exercise with the same zeal as other areas of his life. This included racing down Chicago’s lakefront on a custom-built Waterford road bicycle, his equivalent of a mid-life crisis sports car. Unfortunately, this led to not one but two serious bicycle accidents, the second of which resulted in a traumatic brain injury. This was not his only head trauma over the years. He also lost some mobility after a hip replacement, which limited his enjoyment of kayaking and hiking, and he came to blame some of his stubbornness on his head injuries. Ultimately, Bob was overcome by a fear of what he, at least, perceived to be lasting brain damage and resulting cognitive decline.

Rick Artwick, Bob’s longtime friend and colleague, who met Bob in their first-year criminal law course, described Bob as, “Tough, sometimes difficult, and funny. He was not a saint, but that’s what I liked about him. He was a loyal friend.” He was much more than a friend to his family, but otherwise the sentiment sums up Bob well.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a gift in celebration of Bob’s life to the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab in support of Brain Injury Rehabilitation, which helped Bob recover from his bicycle accidents, or Restore Justice, a grassroots criminal justice reform project in which he was active.

Donations can be made to Restore Justice can be made online at https://bit.ly/restore-justice. Checks can be sent to the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab at 355 E. Erie Street, 10th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611, or online at https://bit.ly/shirleyryan .

Family and friends are invited to a Celebration of Bob’s Life on Saturday, November 19, 2022, in the fourth-floor Brunswick Room at St. Ignatius College Prep, 1076 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago. Please gather between 11:00-11:30 a.m. with a short program and luncheon to follow.

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