Robert Emerson Pond

Bob Pond passed away peacefully on July 21, 2017 in Prescott Valley, Arizona.

He was born on July 7, 1919 in Dubuque Iowa to John Emerson and Dorothy Lucia Pond. Bob spent his school years in Dubuque, graduating from Dubuque High School in 1937. After graduation, he moved to Long Beach, California with his family. He attended Long Beach City College, then transferred to the University of California at Berkeley, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1941.

In October 1942, he entered the Air Corps and was assigned to the Medical Department at Westover Field, Massachusetts. He was the Sergeant in charge of the Lab of the 113th Base Hospital but most importantly, there he met Rose Madeline Burt. Bob was honorably discharged from the Air Corps in January 1946 and returned to Long Beach California to continue his 20-year career with Sears, which started in retail and ended as the Personnel Manager for the Long Beach store.

On August 7, 1947, Bob and Rose Madeline Burt were married in Aurora Colorado at the home of Rose’s sister and her husband, Dorothy and David York. They honeymooned at Yellowstone, and returned to begin married life in Long Beach. Three sons were born to Bob and Rose in Long Beach, Robert John and Richard Burt in 1949 and James David in 1956.

Bob left Sears to start a 10-year career with the City of Long Beach as the Assistant Personnel Manager. He was involved with the project of bringing the Queen Mary to America and to her new home at Long Beach harbor. In July 1971, he retired from the City of Long Beach and moved with Rose to their dream house in Groom Creek, nestled in the mountains outside of Prescott, Arizona.

Bob hiked all around the Groom Creek area, becoming very knowledgeable about the area and its history. He became involved with the Groom Creek Volunteer Fire Department, both as a firefighter and later as a Fire Board member. His knowledge of the area served him well and allowed him to contribute to the Groom Creek Chronicle. He and Rose were members of the Trinity Presbyterian Church where he served as a Deacon and Elder.

Bob worked for various office supply stores, PBSW, Granite Mountain Office, The Stockroom and Seitz Office City. He thoroughly enjoyed visiting the government offices around the Plaza and became a regular visitor to the Courthouse area, enjoying the people and the atmosphere.

After losing Rose in 1996 and having left the woods of Groom Creek behind, he moved into Prescott and helped with organizations such as Prescott People Who Care and arranged bus tours to interesting places around the state for the residents of Las Fuentes Retirement Center. He was Santa Claus for more years than we can remember and brightened many a young child’s life. He continued to be independent, keeping active and staying involved with his kids, his grandkids and his great-grandkids.

Bob was a generous, loving person whom always found or made friends with those he came in contact with. He had the courage to challenge himself and those around him. Bob loved to tell stories of his life, usually with a degree of embellishment, but never in a self- promoting way. As age and life created their challenges, he always found a way to enhance the positive and move past the negative. As a result, he lived a happy and meaningful life that flowed on to those around him. His family and faith were a crucial part of his being and he was always there to lend an ear or a helping hand to anyone that needed it. He was a friend to all and a stranger to none. 

Bob was preceded in death by his wife Rose and is survived by his three sons- Bob, Rick and Jim (Linda), five grandchildren-Michelle, Jeremiah, Heather, Joshua (Chrystal), and Christopher (Randi) and five great-grandchildren-Cody, Zackary, Maddox, Tucker and Paisley.