Bob Black

The Baker City Church of the Nazarene plans to live-stream the service for Bob Black. You can find their live-stream page at: https://www.youtube.com/@BakerCityNaz/streams

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Robert Lewis Black, Jr., 82, passed away on April 19, 2025, at his home in Baker City, Oregon. He was born in Pendleton, OR, on August 12, 1942. A memorial service will be held on May 10, 2025, beginning at 1:00 PM at the Baker City Church of the Nazarene with Pastor Lennie Spooner officiating. A reception will be held at the Baker City Church of the Nazarene Family Life Center after the service.

Bob was raised in La Grande, Oregon. As a boy, he was always busy, including holding his own paper route to earn money. He was active in Boy Scouts and earned the rank of Eagle Scout as a young teen, an accomplishment he was very proud of. While attending Eastern Oregon State College, he met Michael Smith, and they were married in 1964. They moved to Washington State, where he worked as a union oil representative for several years.

Wanting to start his own business, they moved to Baker City in 1971, and bought and ran the union oil distributorship for 43 years before retiring.

Bob always had a number of interests and was always doing something. He obtained his private pilot license and enjoyed flying his plane around the Baker Valley and surrounding areas. He had a love of classic cars, particularly T series MG roadsters, of which he had a complete set from a TA to a TF. There were many summer days you could see Bob cruising down the street in his yellow MG TD.

He was very interested in history, and specifically military history from the Romans to the Civil War and the World Wars, being a fan of Ulysses S. Grant and George Patton in particular. He was so taken with the Patton movie that he bought an 8-track of the soundtrack and played it so many times that the children had begun to memorize the opening speech. He was a collector of a wide range of Civil War and World War II memorabilia and was particularly proud of preserving the personal histories of many local veterans.

When Robin, Chris, and Shannon were young, he made a ritual of asking a question at the dinner table, most history-related, with a reward offered to the first to come up with an answer—and the race was on. This inspired an interest in history and other subjects in the children. As they got older, he had them all learning how to drive his old Model A pickup and the 1946 Jeep before he would turn them loose in the '59 Corvette.

Bob was a generous man, and many times over the years, when a friend or acquaintance needed a hand up, he was there for them without question.

Bob could be seen driving around town in his bright red pickup with its Radio Flyer rails, and typically with a Border Collie in the back, as that was his favorite breed. He was never lacking for a clever quip or one-liner and found himself hilarious, as did many who encountered him, from the post office to the bank to York's Grocery.

Bob and Michael would travel occasionally, including a trip to New Orleans for a riverboat cruise and one that was very exciting for both of them—a trip to Australia, something on their bucket list. There, they stayed with their Aussie friends Bob and Betty Taylor for the better part of a month. They were able to see everything from koalas and kangaroos to football and wonderful museums, plus many incredible sights. A favorite quote from this trip—"Such is life"—came from a nefarious character from down under.

Bob is survived by his wife of 61 years, Michael; his daughter, Robin (Loren), of Ellensburg, Washington; and his sons, Shannon (Whitney) and Chris (Mary), both of Baker City. Grandchildren: Alex, Jessica, Joe, Hailey Jo, Blake, Orrin, Sam, Emily, and Kolby. He is also survived by eight great-grandchildren and two pending.

As Bob would say… "such is life."

Memorial contributions may be made to Best Friends of Baker City or Tunnels to Towers through Gray's West & Co. Pioneer Chapel at 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.