Robert Warren Coombs ’40 died on August 6, 2005, in Ventura, California.

Born on September 11, 1918, in Brunswick, he prepared for college at Gorham (NH) High School and became a member of Delta Upsilon Fraternity at Bowdoin. He graduated from the College in 1942 as a member of the Class of 1940 and served during World War II with the 1st Marine Division from 1942 to 1944, attaining the rank of private first class. He was a member of the faculty at New Hampton School in New Hampshire for four years and then taught for a year at Harrisburg (PA) Academy. In 1950, he received a master of education degree in guidance, and in 1956, a doctor of education degree in educational psychology, both from the University of Southern California. After a year as a research assistant at Los Angeles State College, he became the director of special services with the Ventura United School District, a position that he held until his retirement in 1984. He helped establish the Christmas for Kids Program through the Ventura Unified School District and saw it grow from 30 families to more than 500 families by 1980. He was also instrumental in establishing the Ventura Foster Home Program with assistance of the Downtown Lions Club. He was a charter member of VCers, a group of people who traveled together in recreation vehicles and travel trailers throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada, serving as a wagon member. He was a 50-year member of the Masons and served as president of the Al Malikah Shrine. He also was a member of the Downtown Lions Club for more than 50 years, and a 50-year member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Ventura. He was married in 1943 in Australia to Jesma Ruth Wyatt, who died in 2002, and is survived by a son, Carroll C. Coombs of Livingston, TX; a brother, Richard Y. Coombs ’52 of Arlington, MA; two grandsons; and numerous nieces and nephews, including Richard L. Coombs ’89.