Roll Call Tribute

Published in Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette from July 18 to July 19, 2015

ROBERT LEA CLOUD(1933 - 2015)
CLOUD ROBERT LEA
Born in El Paso, TX, to Orrin and Evelyn Cloud on January 6, 1933, Robert "Bob" Lea Cloud died in his sleep surrounded by his children on June 18, 2015, in Waynesboro, Virginia. A son of an impoverished family, Bob came of age with America's prosperity, and his journey through life is a classic rags to riches story. Thanks to winning a merit scholarship, Bob attended Texas A&M University, where he earned a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, and married the love of his life, Helen Claire Cooley of Houston, Texas. Bob's career took them from Texas to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where Bob worked for the Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Laboratory on the Nautilus nuclear submarine program. During his time in Pittsburgh, Bob earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and watched his family grow to five children on their farm in Lone Pine, Pennsylvania. In 1969 Bob moved his family to Massachusetts for a career opportunity with Teledyne Materials Research. He developed a passion for saltwater sailing and spent many happy days with his wife, four children and dog on their 28' wooden ketch, the "West Wind." In 1971 Bob returned with his family to Pittsburgh, where he managed the Materials Research Laboratory of Westinghouse's Nuclear Power Reactor operations. In 1979, he set out for Berkeley, California to start Robert L. Cloud & Associates, assisted by Helen. A highly successful nuclear power engineering firm, Robert L. Cloud & Associates employed over 50 engineers and support staff, held numerous patents, and worked on major projects such as the seismic re-verification of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. In 1997, Bob retired to Greenmont Farm in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, where he dreamt of starting a winery. That summer Bob suffered a traumatic brain injury while cycling in France. Thereafter, he was in Helen's care until the last year and a half of his life. Her devotion to his recovery allowed Bob to regain a quality of life his doctors did not believe possible, and he enjoyed many happy years on his farm. Throughout his life, Bob's charismatic personality inspired those around him, making him a natural leader. People admired Bob's zest for adventure: he never met a new experience he didn't like, whether it was building the worldwide nuclear power industry or learning to farm, sail, and ski. Admired for his dedication to family, Bob was known for treating co-workers, employees, and strangers with kindness and compassion, due to the deep insight into the suffering of others that he gained while growing up an impoverished child with Mexican heritage in 1940's El Paso. Bob was pre-deceased by his beloved wife of 58 years, Helen; and by his youngest son, Jesse Robert Cloud. He is survived by his sisters Shirley Whelen of El Paso, Texas and Ginger Van Dijk of Vancouver, Washington; and by his children, Elizabeth Cloud of Chicago, Illinois, Joseph Cloud of Staunton, Virginia, Roy Cloud of Washington, D.C. and Lea Cloud, of Hoboken, New Jersey; as well as his grandchildren, Kaitlin and Christopher Cloud, and Zoe and Noah Grosshandler. In his later years Bob was a devoted member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Waynesboro (UUFW). Donations in his name may be made to the UUFW (565 Pine Ave., Waynesboro, VA 22980) or to The Bridgeline, an organization serving people with brain injuries (P.O. Box 7292, Charlottesville, VA 22906). Bob will be remembered in a memorial service at the UUFW on August 22, 2015, at 10:00 a.m.