Obituary for Robert Weinkam

December 27, 1942 – August 25, 2016

Robert J. Weinkam, Bob as he was known, passed away on Thursday August 25, 2016 after a lengthy struggle with Waldenstrom disease, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and more recently Cryptococcal Meningitis. He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Mona, and his children Patrick, Taryn, Sarah, and Jenna. Bob was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to Robert and Claire Weinkam. He was the oldest of four children and the only one to leave Ohio. He received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and lived briefly in London before settling most of his life in California. He pursued a career as a research professor at University of California, San Francisco and at Purdue University. He later transitioned to be an executive in the pharmaceutical industry at companies such as Allergan, Sanofi, Matrix Pharmaceuticals, and Protein Design Labs. He authored many scientific papers, patents, and book chapters. One of his most notable achievements was overseeing the research group that discovered Plavix, a blood thinning medication used to prevent heart attacks that was the 2nd top selling drug in the world in the mid 2000’s, one year with $9 billion in sales. Bob retired in 2007 to pursue his hobbies, which included publishing six novels, gardening, pastel drawing, and tending to the house.

Bob was caring and thoughtful and always wanted the best for the people around him. His typical day started with a cup of coffee and two doughnuts from the local bakery. He was a private and easy-going person who preferred reading and the comfort of his own home rather than mingling amongst strangers. The exceptions were trips to Home Depot, a local cafe or restaurant. He described himself as a better writer than speaker and to that point he was reserved, but the goodness of his heart was apparent.

He was a builder of things. Bob constructed physical objects like our backyard decks at three different houses, numerous bookshelves, furniture pieces, and a koi pond. He built a very successful scientific career and he created entire fictional universes for the books that he wrote. He most importantly established solid foundations for his children and family to build upon. Of his four children, three are doctors and one is an executive in the financial industry. Bob will be deeply missed by friends and family and will be remembered in all of our hearts. A special thank you to his treatment team whose care helped extend his life so we could enjoy his presence for the additional years.