The Library of Congress held a celebration of life ceremony yesterday for a former colleague who recently passed away.
Robert “Bob” Gee, who most recently was a special assistant to the Associate Librarian of Congress, died on March 12 after a short battle with cancer. He was surrounded by family at his home in Washington, D.C. Bob was born June 22, 1956, in Miami, Oklahoma. After he graduated from Miami High School in 1974, he received his Bachelor of Arts and law degrees from the University of Oklahoma. He received his Juris Doctorate in 1981. In 1984, he earned a Master of Laws Degree in administrative law and economic regulations from George Washington University.
Bob first came to the Library of Congress nearly 30 years ago as a reference librarian and served for nearly 17 years as the chief of the Law Library’s Public Services Division. One of his first colleagues at the Library was Roberta Shaffer, now the Associate Librarian of Congress for Library Services.
“Bob Gee and I began our Library careers just a few months apart,” Shaffer said. “As such, we dubbed ourselves ‘Irish Twins.’ While I left LC and only returned eight years ago, Bob spent his entire career in the Law Library. For me, he was a constant, always here as a ‘go-to expert’ on the legislative process and administrative law. Bob Gee was a genteel, gregarious and gracious tall Oklahoman who loved Washington and was extremely proud of serving our country by working at the Library of Congress. We will miss him greatly, but I think I will never forget the sound of his distinctive voice and cadence.”
Bob attained many accomplishments during his tenure at the Law Library in addition to serving as Chief of Public Services. He had a great understanding of legislative procedure and regulatory law, for which he served as an instructor of legal research and legislative history for congressional staff. Bob led the development of “A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation” collection as part of the greater American Memory historical collection portal.
Those who gave tributes to Bob included Mary Alice Baish, Superintendent of Documents at the Government Printing Office; Roberta Shaffer, Associate Librarian of Congress for Library Services; Jim Martin, Senior Legal Information Analyst at the Law Library; and Liah Caravalho, Program Specialist at the Law Library.
Comments (2)
How marvelous to see Bob honored. In 1991 I was granted a fellowship at the Library in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Bill of Rights. With Bob’s help I created a program utilizing the case method of instruction for high school seniors at Langley High School which will be 25 years old next year. Bob was a delight in every way and so helpful to me in helping the program gain footing. Eventually, the intellectually towering 19th Clerk of the Supreme Court, William K. Suter, would become a true force in the program and that continues to his day. Justices Scalia and Ginsburg were also most helpful. Would that more Americans knew of the beauty of this man in his respect for the law and how best to expand it to the high school level.
In 1991 I was awarded a fellowship from the Library celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Bill of Rights. It was my good fortune to have Bob Gee as my advisor. Thanks to his help, we created a program where high school seniors utilized the case method of instruction to study a single case off of each current docket from the High Court. With the further assistance of the intellectually towering 19th Clerk of the Supreme Court, William K. Suter, the program is now in its 25th year. Justices Scalia and Ginsburg have both been active in assisting the program and I am most grateful for all that Bob did lo those many years ago.