Bob Altemeyer, known fondly as Dr. Bob to family, friends and thousands of University of Manitoba students, died on Wednesday, February 7, 2024. He battled various health issues with fortitude, stamina, creative problem-solving and humour, until he could go no further.

Like all of us, he was a complicated person and impossible to capture completely. The only child in a working-class family in St. Louis, he was the first in his family to go to university when he earned a full scholarship to Yale. During his graduate studies at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, he met the love of his life, Jean Renaud. His studies completed, he and Jean moved to Nebraska where he taught at Doane College for two years. They then came to Winnipeg to the University of Manitoba Department of Psychology. Dr. Bob likely was the world expert on Right-Wing Authoritarianism, a dangerous psychological trait about which he did rigorous research to a high standard. Always the empiricist, if his or others’ work could not be proven or replicated, he remained unconvinced, until the research satisfied his requirements.

He began publishing his research in the 1980’s in books geared for academics, mostly focused on his authoritarian research. His last book was co-authored for general readership. As with his previous writing, it focused on the rise and risks of Donald Trump. Dr. Bob identified and demonstrated why we all should have deep concerns about Donald Trump, the even-more-dangerous potential of Trump’s followers, and the many current threats to democracy.

In addition to his crucial research, he was passionate about teaching. His lectures over his 40 plus years were memorable, often funny, and clearly communicated to the students. As were his exams, minus the humour. One example is the word, “hippocampus”, a code word based on the memory centre of the brain. He taught all his students to use that word if his and their paths should cross after graduation – one of many ways he connected concepts and made them personal. In another class, as an inoculation to fuzzy thinking, he pulled-off a manipulation that convinced his students that he had ESP—then, he debriefed them, stressing the importance of critical thinking.

He is survived by his wife, Jean, whom he loved beyond all understanding—at least, she does not understand it. Also, he is survived by his children, their partners, and his grandchildren. He was an avid music and movie collector, who was unphased when an entire collection became obsolete—he just merely started collecting the latest technology. His prodigious memory included names of childhood friends and addresses, all the lyrics to “The Mikado”, and St. Louis Cardinal trivia (to us, trivia – to him, crucial), to name just a few.

As his children commented: After seven decades or more of agnosticism and spirituality-spurning, he is now finally perhaps able to get to the bottom of it all - won’t he be surprised if he has discovered he still exists after all? Perhaps he is happily debating the existence of the afterlife with his good friend Bruce Hunsberger, and possibly Epicurus. Dr. Bob’s sense of humour was pervasive even on the subject of death.

He indicated in his Health Care Directive: “I wish to be cremated… I would like to be definitely and completely dead when this happens. No electrical activity whatsoever in the cerebral cortex will do as a criterion. If, however I say I’d like to take a walk, as I am being delivered to the crematorium, please indulge me.”

Bob did not like being the centre of attention, but family and friends will gather to remember him at a time close to his birth date this coming June.

In lieu of flowers, Dr. Bob would be delighted if his memory inspired others to devote more of their time, money, and expertise to making the world a better place.