Robert Charles Roule

Robert C. “Bob” Roule, loving husband of Barbara Roop, passed away at Hock Family Pavilion on Monday, May 23, 2023 at the age of 83.

He was born in the smoggy steel-mill town of Monongahela, Pennsylvania to Robert and Irene (Muntan) Roule. It was here that he began his career in newspapers, leading him via scholarship to the muggy college town of Hattiesburg, Mississippi where he pursued a bachelor’s degree in English, completing it at the University of North Carolina. He enlisted in the Army National Guard from 1965 to 1972 where he attained the rank of Sergeant First Class. Over the years he continued to work in various positions in newspapers, being the Managing Editor at the Durham Morning Herald and other regional publications.

The years of reporting and editing on local and world events inspired Bob’s passion for journalism ethics and standards. Decades ago he spotted the trend away from the long-form coverage of events in print to the current era of sound bites and quotes on broadcast media and internet sites; but, he just as quickly understood how important computers would be and was an early advocate of personal computers (he bought the original Macintosh back in 1984) and desktop publishing. Equally passionate about politics, you could count on him to work long hours on election night trying to get the most accurate count of the votes before it was time to print, or as he would say “put the paper to bed.”

Outside of the newsroom, Bob loved animals. Stray cats would often find him, sensing a kind soul who could find them a loving home. And he loved history, especially that of Revolutionary War-era America. Many a family vacation was strung together of places where ideas were formulated, battles were fought, and plans were forged to create these United States of America. He read and researched about his native Pennsylvania, whether it was the founding of the petroleum industry in Oil City or the deadly Donora Smog that killed twenty people in 1948 just miles upriver from his childhood home.

Then there was his love of trains. He maintained subscriptions to model train magazines for years, visited many famous trains across the United States, and even in Mexico, and volunteered for the New Hope Valley Railway of the North Carolina Railway Museum, Inc. Bob also loved the outdoors and camping, collecting special stamps from the Isle of Man Post Office, trying new foods, the sport of rowing, the Pittsburgh Steelers… he had an inquisitive mind and loved to learn about anything that struck his fancy.

Bob was preceded in death by his father, Robert, his mother, Irene, and his brother, Tom. He is survived by his wife Barbara and step-daughters Charlotte and Tracey, his son Robert Charles, his sister, Carol, his brothers, Dennis and William, cousins, and a nephew and niece.