Robert William Backoff

Bob was a quintessential Midwesterner having been born in Chicago, grew up in Indiana, and settled down to teach and raise a family in Ohio.

He graduated from West Lafayette High School in West Lafayette, IN. In high school, Bob spent his spare time playing sports and playing an active role in student government. He played football, ran track and field, and was very passionate about his favorite sport, basketball, where he played point guard. Bob was a proud alumnus of the University of Illinois where he served as president of the student senate and went on to complete his postgraduate work at Johns Hopkins and Indiana University. It was there that a friend tried to set him up on a blind date with his future wife Judith “Judy” Rayburn. Having initially declined because he “sounded awful,” Judy later accepted another friend’s set-up attempt and that first date led to an all-night conversation at the IHOP and ultimately a 53-year marriage and three children.

Bob was devoted to his work as a professor at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University (OSU). Although he published many research papers and a book with his collaborator Paul Nutt, his real passion lay in teaching. His students came from all over the world, and Bob liked nothing better than to engage in genuine learning with them. He has been described by former colleagues and students as a “sought after dissertation advisor” and “a kind, brilliant complex scholar and friend.”

Prior to his work as a professor at OSU, he served in the U.S. Army and worked in intelligence. It was in this capacity that he got to enjoy living and working in Europe and DC for much of his young adulthood. Later Bob and Judy moved to Bryn Mawr, PA, and Bob taught at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania before accepting a job at OSU.

Bob retired from OSU in 2000. After retirement, Bob focused on his deeply held spiritual beliefs as he searched for greater truths with the same curiosity and intelligence that had energized his work as a professor. Almost anyone who met Bob noticed and remarked on his gentle spirit and compassion, which he channeled into this spiritual practice.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Vivian Starz Pape and William J. Backoff, and his brother James “Jim” Backoff (Jo Ann). He is survived by his wife Judith Rayburn Backoff, his children Kristin Lawson (Jeff), Andrew Backoff, Julia Backoff (Chip), and five grandchildren Kate Lawson, Jack Lawson, Wil Burke, Franklin Burke, and Lucia Burke.

His family is grateful for all the kind messages and memories we have received from those he impacted. We would also like to thank OhioHealth Hospice for the compassionate care Bob received during his final days.

Arrangements entrusted to SCHOEDINGER NORTHWEST.