Goodbye Bob Handley (NSS 1002)

[Cheryl Jones]

Accomplished caver Bob Handley (NSS 1002L) passed away in his sleep on the evening of Jan. 14. A memorial service will likely be held in the spring.

Bob served as Group Leader on the NSS's 1954 "C-3" project to map Floyd Colins' Crystal Cave (The Caves Beyond by Joe Lawrence, Jr, and Roger Brucker.) He was a founding member and recent past president of the West Virginia Cave Conservancy.

A friend to many and and icon in the WV caving community, Bob will be missed.

[Scott McCrea]

One of the icons of caving. If I'm not mistaken, he was the oldest person to rappel the New River Gorge Bridge, 876', during Bridge Day. Not sure how old he was at the time (80?), but it was impressive.

Here's a great interview of Bob from Cavedigger.com: PDF

He was featured in at least three photos in LIFE magazine. 1, 2, 3.

[Cheryl Jones]

Bob's caving history, in his own words
http://wvhighlands.org/wv_voice/?cat=26

2002 Interview
http://www.cavediggers.com/Handley.pdf

[Cheryl Jones]

A celebration of life will be on Saturday, May 28, at Lost World Caverns.

Robert Hall Handley
Charleston Daily, 1/28/11.

Robert Hall Handley, 82, of Renick, W.Va., died Saturday, January 15, 2011.

He was born April 21, 1928, in Thomasville, Ga., and was a son of the late Charles Overton Sr. and Nelle Hall Handley.

Bob was driven by his interest in preserving a clean environment for future generations and he supported this interest in many ways. He was the president of The Greenbrier River Watershed Association and held a director position with the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. He was a life member of the Greenbrier Historical Society, where he followed a family interest in maintaining local history. He is most noted for exploring the underground and spent most of his life helping others share his passion. He was a founding member of the West Virginia Association for Cave Studies and the West Virginia Cave Conservancy. He is the oldest person, at 81, to rappel the New River Bridge on Bridge Day. He retired from Union Carbide, Institute, W.Va., as a senior engineer.

Survivors include, one brother, John Handley and his wife, Julie, of Jacksonville Fla.; two sons and their spouses, Scott and Meri Handley of Vancouver, Wash., and Todd and Julie Handley of Parkersburg; four grandchildren, Meghan, Quinn, McKellam and Austin.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one brother, Charles Overton Handley Jr.

A celebration of life will be on Saturday, May 28, at Lost World Caverns.

The family requests that memorial contributions be made to any of the following interests in the name of Bob Handley c/o Todd Handley 116 Brentwood Heights, Parkersburg WV 26104: WV Cave Conservancy, Greenbrier River Watershed Association, Greenbrier Historical Society Inc., or WV Highlands Conservancy.