- Date Of Birth: July 19, 1942
- Date Of Death: September 24, 2015
- State: Colorado
Robert Carl Baumgartner was born on July 19, 1942 to Frances Mabel Gidney Baumgartner and Julius Andrew Baumgartner in Chicago, Illinois. He was the brother of William James, who predeceased Robert in 2005. He was the oldest brother to Joan Baumgartner Williamson, Jean Baumgartner Ziemba and Richard Julius Baumgartner. Robert lived in the Chicago area until his high school years when the family moved to a new home built by our father in Dolton, Illinois in the early ’60’s. Bob attended Thornton Township High School and then graduated college with a degree in Math. He also earned a Master’s Degree and taught college math for a time. He moved to Colorado in the early ’70s to follow his dream of living his own life and following his own star. He took pottery classes and studied until he became a master potter. He ended up teaching pottery at the Boulder Potter’s Guild in Boulder, CO. When he needed pocket money he’d park his car, open the trunk, put up a “pottery for sale” sign and sell his beautiful pieces to lucky passersby. He was also the proprietor of Talisman Pottery along with Pat Gibbons for many years.
Bob was the heart and soul of , a hiking group that he started because of his deep love for hiking the Rocky Mountains. There are two pieces of Bob’s pottery on permanent display in the Cortland Museum in Denver. Bob was deeply loved by hundreds of people, despite the fact that he never married or had children. His “children” were his hiking and pottery families. There was a memorial for him near Flagstaff where his friends traded stories about their beloved friend. He is missed by all his hiking friends, because no one can take his place or knew the mountains like Bob. He’s missed by the Boulder Potter’s Guild, where students loved to watch him work. He ended his life as he lived, hiking. He passed away almost to the Summit of Mount Sopris, just outside of Aspen, CO. He is sincerely missed by all who loved him and lives on in his beautiful pottery. There are a few videos of Bob throwing pots on youtube. Simply search for “Bob Baumgartner pottery” and you can still watch him work.
