Robert Michael “Bob” Jeremiah, 76, of Edgecomb died peacefully on Thursday morning, July 4, 2013, thus concluding an impeccable life.

He was born on February 18, 1937 in Mt. Vernon, N.Y., the son of the late Anthony Joseph Jeremiah Sr. and Susan Carilli Jeremiah. Growing up in Mt. Vernon, he attended local schools and was a graduate of Archbishop Stepinac High School, class of 1954.  

He went on to attend Fordham University where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication arts in 1958.

Upon graduating, he began a career in advertising in New York City with Lennon and Newell, then with Cunningham and Walsh. He was transferred to San Francisco in 1966 as Cunningham and Walsh’s Media Director. In 1977 he started his own consulting firm. Soon afterward Bob was approached by a group interested in starting up an all-sports network. In September of 1979, he transferred to Connecticut and was officially the third hired employee with this “new” startup network and his career at ESPN was born.

ESPN enabled him to attend many of the world’s most famous sporting events. His illustrious career at ESPN spanned 20 years until he retired as director of special events for the network. Having hinted at retiring a few times prior, he followed his wife’s advice and instead of telling her he was finally retiring he just showed up one morning with his desk packed and announced he had retired.

A quiet, humble man to a fault, he never bragged about any of his many achievements. His daughter remembers the time she was in college reading the Wall Street Journal and on the front page was her father in an article describing a major advertising deal.

When she called to congratulate him his response was, “You read the Wall Street Journal.” His wife often found out about his promotions through monthly company newsletters. His reasoning was, if the promotion came with a pay raise, he didn’t want her to go on a spending spree.

Bob had a mischievous side that was fueled by practical jokes and good for zinger one liners. One of his son’s remembers playing catch with his father in the yard. Everything was running smoothly until he saw his dad reel back and he knew what was next; dad was going to throw it as hard as he could and he either had to try and catch it or get out of the way quick. He was famous for not shaving for a day or two then raking “the nubs” along his kids cheeks after fooling them to come close with a pretend secret he had to tell them.

However, being his children, they were able to get their dad back with practical jokes of their own, such as loosening the lid of the pepper shaker at a restaurant. He was encyclopedic with his knowledge and would handily defeat all comers at Monopoly or Trivial Pursuit, even when it was everyone against him. If you were careless enough to leave an unfinished crossword puzzle lying around, you could be sure it would be finished when you came back to it. In red ink.

His two favorite hobbies were golf and cooking. In the winter months, he could be found putting on the living room rug or trying new recipes in the kitchen, all of which included “one cup of kindness.” He was an avid reader and he loved to listen to classical music and opera.

He was selfless and gave blood every chance, with the caveat that none of his be given to democrats. He loved spending time with his family, had a huge heart, and was a gracious host. His infectious sense of humor made a difficult time easier on his family as he tried to keep the mood light.

He lived his life with eyes wide open and was always the realist.

He was predeceased by a brother, Anthony Joseph Jeremiah Jr.

He will be always remembered and missed by his wife of almost 48 years, Patricia “Pat” Jeremiah of Edgecomb; daughter, Kate and husband Chris Darling; sons, Michael and Nicholas; sister, Carolyn Chyba; grandchildren, Nicholas and Elizabeth Darling and Sylvia and Graydon Jeremiah; as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, great-nieces and great-nephews.

A celebration of Bob’s life will be held on August 3.

You are invited to share your condolences, memories and photos with the Jeremiah family by visiting their Book of Memories at www.hallfuneralhomes.com

Arrangements are entrusted to Simmons, Harrington, and Hall Boothbay.