Robert Saunders

Robert “Bob” Thayer Saunders, born May 21, 1947 to Joseph Halle Saunders and Ruth Monroe Saunders at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Famously, it was said that Ruth nearly gave birth while walking across the George Washington Bridge! Bob was the youngest of three. He had two older sisters, Susan and Barbara. When he was nine years old, it was decided that he would move from the family home in New Jersey to Tamerland Farms in upstate New York, where he would live with his paternal grandparents, Carle and Ella Warren. During the years that followed, Bob learned the significance of hard work, resolve and family ties. His education included boarding school at Christ School in North Carolina and Cresskill High School in New Jersey, where he played varsity football and track & field - both known for helping round out a few of his rough edges and “bullish ways.”

He attended Paterson State College (now William Paterson University) in New Jersey, where he majored in Social Sciences. After graduation, Bob remained in New Jersey and taught high school history for eleven years. During his time as a teacher, he also trained as a heavy-weight lifter and coached young athletes at the Olympic Weightlifter Club. Bob stood well over six feet tall and he lifted competitively. He was quoted in the Paterson News as saying that “the weight lifter must not only be strong, but mentally prepared.” “Mind over matter” was a motto he would hold to throughout his life.

In 1980, Bob left the east coast and journeyed west. In Bob manner, the location was yet to be determined. After weeks exploring on the open road, he settled in Denver, Colorado, where he would soon buy his first house. Around 1982, he started working with a company called Doral. Ironically, the company was based in New York, which in some ways reconnected Bob to his roots. His job was to establish the company out west. Bob rapidly developed what would become the most expansive one-man territory the company would ever see. It included the mid-west, the north-west, the south-west and even all the way out to Hawaii. Bob was married in 1983 and he and his then wife Lynnie welcomed their daughter Laura in 1984 and their son Luke in 1991.

Bob loved rebuilding muscle cars, fly fishing all over the west, and collecting stories. The clients he fostered shaped a community of “old friends” who always invited him in with a smile, a hug and of course lots of treats…he may even have had an admirer or two! Bob resonated with the nickname “the Hulk” because he was such a big man. While his stature was formidable, his personality was larger than life. He always had a joke to share and an endless treasure-trove of stories that felt like fable.

Bob was shamelessly authentic, notorious for his one-liners and he approached challenges as a true athlete: determined to WIN. Some of the very best qualities of Bob were practical. He worked hard and he regularly coached that “success takes following through.” His motto “kick ass and take names” lifted him to the top of his field, earning him the title The Legend.

Bob passed away peacefully in Evergreen, CO on March 3rd, 2021 at the age of 73. He is survived by his daughter Laura (Elsbeth) and son Luke, of Denver, CO; nephew Ryan (Lori) and niece Lindsey of Littleton, CO; nephew Dan and niece Dawn of Texas. At his request, Bob’s remains will be spread on the North Platte River in Wyoming.