Robert Maurice Lake, 94, passed away on Oct. 29, 2022, in Tucson, Arizona. He served the Forest Service for more than 30 years, retiring from his final position as director of information in 1983.

Bob was born in 1928 in Sturgis, South Dakota. In the summer of 1945, he worked in the Black Hills National Forest, the beginning of what would become his career with the Forest Service.

Following graduation, Bob enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served as a Naval Weatherman at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he tracked hurricanes in the Caribbean.

Upon discharge from the Navy in 1948, Bob worked for the Forest Service in Wyoming and South Dakota. He earned his bachelor’s in forestry at the University of Montana and accepted an appointment with the Black Hills National Forest headquarters in Deadwood. His career of more than 30 years with the Forest Service took Bob and his family from South Dakota to Colorado, Wisconsin, Alaska, Washington, D.C., California, and back to Washington, D.C.

He served as forester, district ranger, training officer, regional personnel officer, national chief of training, assistant regional forester, director of manpower and youth conservation programs, and director of information for the Forest Service. He remained active with the agency even during retirement.

Very grateful for their dad are his three children, Michael, Cindy and Jennifer. Bob’s beloved wife, Eve, passed away just 74 days before he did, one day for each of the almost 74 years they had been married. They are buried in Rapid City, South Dakota.