Obituary of Robert Vernon Campbell

Robert "Bob" Vernon Campbell of Duluth died in his home on Dec. 25, 2014, surrounded by loving family and friends. Bob, who served as a judge in Duluth for 27 years, was born in Grand Rapids, Minn. on May 7, 1935. He was an only child and spent his early years in Duluth in a house built by his father in the Kenwood neighborhood. His family later moved to Hibbing and then Eveleth. As a teenager, Bob worked two summer jobs, one as a dock boy at the North Star Resort on Lake Kabetogama (where one summer he kept a pet squirrel) and the other as a mechanic's assistant and shovel oiler in the Genoa mine. Bob attended Eveleth High School and Carleton College. In August 1956, Bob joined the Army and went through basic training at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, before being placed in the military's Turkish language program in Monterey, California. Between semesters Bob returned to Minnesota to marry his college friend Patricia Anderson, of Preston, Minn. on July 7, 1957. The couple returned to California where they lived briefly in Carmel until Bob was stationed to a post at Fort Mead, Md. After his Army stint, Bob attended the University of Minnesota Law School. After graduation, Bob and his family moved to Midway, a small community between Eveleth and Virginia, where he set up a private practice in the Virginia law office of John Manthy. His first job as an attorney was defending the office's cleaning lady, whose cats had been taken from her by a local humane society. Bob earned two silver dollars for successfully getting the cats returned to his client. In 1964, Bob moved to Duluth to work as an assistant county attorney. He was soon hired as an assistant attorney general to handle condemnation orders and property acquisition for the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Interstate 35 project through western Duluth. In 1968, Bob began his 27 year judicial career when Minnesota Governor Harold LeVander appointed him as a probate court judge. Bob was a respected member of the court system. During his years on the bench, Bob's work was marked by fairness, integrity, and compassion. He was an innovative and creative judge, as evidenced by his years of seeking changes to the juvenile court and domestic abuse intervention programs. Bob was most proud of his involvement in the substantial changes made to better meet the needs of domestic abuse victims, juveniles, the mentally ill, chemically dependent individuals, and those under child protection. Bob was instrumental in establishing the Arrowhead Juvenile Detention Center and the Domestic Abuse Intervention Program (D.A.I.P.), which shifted focus to the protection of victims. The D.A.I.P., or the "Duluth Project", became a well-respected and replicated model and Bob and others, including Ellen Pence, comprised a team that traveled around the country and the world educating other communities about Duluth's program. Bob retired as a judge in November 1994. After retirement, Bob and Pat loved spending time with their children and grandchildren traveling, boating, and fishing on Lake Superior. Their long-term retirement plans for adventure were cut short when Pat died in 1999, after a short battle with acute leukemia. Bob had a great love for Lake Superior and he enjoyed several more years boating and fishing with friends and family, including a memorable trip when he piloted his boat from Lake Champlain to Duluth through several canals and Great Lakes. Bob was a beloved member of the community. He had a larger-than-life presence marked by his big, easy laugh and a twinkle in his eye. He was a thinker, a listener, and a wonderful and insightful conversationalist. He invariably put others' needs before his own. His love of his family was paramount. He enjoyed nothing more than watching or hearing about the activities in which his children and grandchildren participated, whether on the stage, in the classroom, or on a sporting field. He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Campbell. Bob is survived by his daughter, Torri Campbell (Jon Krotinger) of San Rafael, Calif.; son Todd Campbell (Sue Wegener) of Superior; son Trent Campbell (Nikki Juvan) of Middlebury, Vermont; and grandchildren Anna, Corrin, Mitchell, Henry, Lucy, Emily, Owen, Molly, and Hannah; and by his companion, Kay Frederickson. A special thanks to Dr. George Apostolou and Stephanie and the rest of her St Luke's home hospice crew for their kindness and devotion to Bob's wishes. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to the Domestic Abuse Intervention Program or to St. Luke's Hospice. SERVICE: As per Bob's wishes, the family will host a celebration of his life at a later date and time to be announced.