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Robert Nieman ’64

Robert (Bob) Nieman was to have joined the class of 1964 in fall 1960, but died in a climbing accident just before the term began, wrote Celia Hansen Morris ’64 in July 2014. Bob lived in Seattle at least from elementary school onwards. He had a non-identical twin brother, Louie, who had been crippled by polio, and an older brother, Paul, and perhaps a sister. "Bob and I were academic competitors and friends in fourth and fifth grade at Lake Forest Park elementary school. I lost touch with him after sixth grade, but then, by chance, we attended the same summer camp during our eighth and ninth grade summers (his brothers were there as well; Paul as a counselor along with my older sister)." Celia and Bob again lost touch, but at 16, while practicing going into crevasses for a Mountaineers climbing certification course on Mount Rainier in the Washington Cascades, Bob recognized Celia and spoke with her. "When I got the list of incoming freshmen, I was very glad that I would come knowing another member of our class. To this day, I regret that I felt too shy to call Bob and suggest we drive down to Spirit Lake together. I believe it was that weekend that he died of a head injury sustained when another climber accidentally dislodged some rocks during an ascent in the Cascades."

Appeared in Reed magazine: online only

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