Robert Rivera

Robert “Bob” Wallace Rivera, visual artist, poet, and activist, died on Sunday, March 3 at the age of 79. Throughout his life Robert used his art, his writing, and his voice in the service of oppressed people, our green spaces, and our threatened planet. Robert moved to Caspian from Washington (state) where he had lived with his mother and grandmother. As a young gay man in a religious and conservative town, he struggled to find a niche for himself. He ended up going to live with his father in New Mexico, where he finished high school and, most important, got to know his siblings Patricia, Tony, Anna Maria (Sam), and Rosalie, and his cousin Norie. He taught them about Picasso and showed them how to make paper dolls from the Sears Roebuck catalog. His sister Patricia says that “he was wickedly fun to be with, had a wonderful sense of humor.” Bob had to beat his siblings off to have any privacy, and he taught them many special things about life and always encouraged them to fight the good fight especially about politics. He loved the family’s ancient pueblo Indian roots, and his grandmother, Rosenda Gallegos adored him. Robert stayed in New Mexico through high school graduation and returned for a year of college, still trying to understand himself and his place in the world, before heading to San Francisco in the late 1960s and beginning his nomadic and activist life. He became an activist and artist with the Livermore Action Group while living in San Francisco, publishing poetry, producing art to bolster the movement against nuclear weapons. The group was known for its street theater as well as its civil disobedience actions, and Robert was part of both. His daughter, Rachel, was born in 1968. In the early 1970s Robert took his activism to Europe, where he lived in London, Paris, and Amsterdam, remaining politically involved and working sometimes as a nanny. His love of children was a thread throughout his life, and he often talked about a girl he took care of at that time. His son, Jake, was born in 1975. He returned to the U.S. in the late 1970s, continuing his peripatetic life and moving among California, Detroit, New York, and Michigan. He found himself in Ann Arbor in the mid-1980s, where he became a mainstay of the local disarmament organization. His art, as always, was the core of his life and was devoted to making the world a better and safer place. His godchildren, Hannah and Joel, were born in 1989 and 1992. He lived off and on in Columbus, Ohio for many years caring for them and helping to raise them and continuing his political work. He was uncle, mentor, and friend to them and their parents, Janis and Justin, for the rest of his life. This role continued with Hannah’s children, Spring and Raymond, who will remember him always as their silly and loving Uncle Bob. Robert spent the last decades of his life in Iron River, after returning to be near his mother when she became ill. A stroke made walking hard, but did not disable him for a long time, and he continued to work for a better world. He continued to work as an artist, producing some of his most important work, and also loved gardening, reading, and sitting in the woods or near the water. He followed politics with disgust. His incredible friend, Rich, was his support and political co-worker in all of his work in Iron County for these years. Robert was a member of the Iron County Watershed Coalition, and was very vocal about the environmental damage created by historic mining in Iron County. He was especially concerned about the devastation created from the abandoned Buck and Dober mines, with the Dober continuingly discharging contaminants into the Iron River. This destruction, and opposition to it, continues today. Robert’s advocacy for the environment and local social injustice spurred a campaign to stop the sale of public land, around 2005, by the Iron County Board of Commissioners. By doing so, 42 acres of land which includes 2,800 feet of river frontage is now preserved for future generations and is now held in the public trust by Bates Township on the Paint River. In his later years, as he became increasingly disabled, he was supported by the wonderful people who helped him in his home. Kelsey became his friend and made sure that he was safe and had everything he needed as he became less able to care for himself. Another part of his later years was his re-connection with his son, Jake, who searched for him for many years before making contact with him. After visiting his siblings in New Mexico with Jake, the family became increasingly close. Jake and his New Mexico relatives as well as his sister Rikki in Iron River were profoundly important to him. Robert died, as he lived, concerned about the future of our world and giving his love to many people who will never forget him. His poetry, art, political work, and love will live beyond him. Robert leaves behind his friends Janis Michael, Justin Schwartz, Richard Sloat, and Kelsey Przybylski, daughter Rachel Clabaugh, son Jake Ryan, grandchildren Fia and Oscar Ryan, nieces and nephews Hannah, Joel, Ray, and Spring Michael-Schwartz, siblings Patricia, Tony, Anna Maria (Sam), and Rosalie Rivera, Rikki Biggin, and Jim Telerico, cousin Nori Martinez. We will miss him always. People who would like to pay their respects may gather at 30 West Ross St in Iron River on Monday, March 11 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Robert Rivera, please visit our flower store.