Friend Robert Lee Rathfon
Carlisle Friends mourn the death and celebrate the life of Robert Lee Rathfon, know to us as “Rob.” Rob was born on October 16, 1951, the son of the late Frank E. Rathfon and Sara Jane (Kline) Rathfon Phillips. He passed away on May 27, 2006. He is survived by his mother and his younger brother, Steven W. Rathfon, both of Mechanicsburg.
Rob began attending Carlisle Friends Meeting in the mid-1990s and became a member on October 13, 1996. Friends remember him as gentle, widely read, insightful, and unfailingly gracious. He met severe physical challenges with uncomplaining courage and, often, humor.
Rob’s mother recalls that he was born with a three-chambered heart, a condition that limited his ability to lead an active childhood. At age seven, Rob underwent the first of two major surgeries in hopes of correcting this condition, but that surgery resulted in little or no real improvement. He was operated on again at age 13. He was on the operating table for more than eight hours. Afterwards, his left arm and left leg were paralyzed. He was hospitalized for three months.
Despite his physical condition, Rob resumed active participation as a Boy Scout and persisted until he earned Scouting’s highest rank, Eagle Scout. As a young teenager he joined the Fifth Street Methodist Church, Harrisburg, and received the church’s Scout-related “God and Country” award.
Rob graduated in 1968 from William Penn High School in Harrisburg and later attended Messiah College for a year while considering a life in Christian ministry. After a brief period of employment with Goodwill Industries, he went to work for what was then Blue Cross/Blue Shield and continued working for Blue Shield after a reorganization divided the firm into two corporate entities.
Friends often are avid readers, but Rob was a voracious reader. At some point after high school he decided to read his way through a long list of the world’s great books. As a result he had first-hand knowledge of hundreds of those books that often fit Mark Twain’s definition of a “classic” (something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read).
Rob was also a serious movie buff. His tastes (and collection of videotapes and DVD’s) ranged from Shakespeare to fluff. If you wanted to watch a movie too old to merit a place on a commercial rental agency’s shelves, the chances were good that Rob would have it and would be delighted to share it. His tastes in music were equally varied, ranging from classical to country. In addition, his social interests included active participation in the Grange.
Rob was diabetic and, due to his partial paralysis, did not drive. Several Friends took turns giving him rides to Meeting for Worship, and all who did so enjoyed his company. He was as active in the life of the Meeting as his physical condition permitted. While he lived in Carlisle, he was a faithful volunteer tutor at the Loysville Youth Development Center in Perry County. He also took an active interest in the Society of Friends beyond Carlisle and regularly attended the meetings of Warrington Quarter and Baltimore Yearly Meeting Interim Meeting. Carlisle Friends admired him and loved him, and we are grateful for his more than ten years of worship and fellowship with us.
This minute was read at a memorial service for Rob at Carlisle Friends Meeting, 252A St., Carlisle, on 06/23/2006.
