Robert Barton Bellman

Robert Barton Bellman, aged 78, of Wayland, died on Sunday, October 20th, 2024. Born in Toledo, OH to the late Bernard Bellman and Lillie (Poneman) Bellman. Bob was the beloved husband of 50 years to Carole Osterer, of Wayland. Devoted father to Miles Bellman, and his wife Leah, and daughter Leah Miller, and her husband Kyle. Loving grandfather to Brooks Miller, Lucas Bellman, & Eliana Bellman. Younger brother to Howard Bellman, and his wife Linda. Adored uncle and cousin to many across the country.

Bob was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2016. The disease progressed slowly but relentlessly, affecting every area of his life. He faced his illness with honesty, courage, and humor and tried to make it as easy as possible for those who cared for him.

As a child, Bob loved math, building model railroads, swimming and basketball. He attended Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland to study electrical engineering. From Case, Bob went to Cornell, but after working in the summer of 1969 as a computer programmer at Honeywell in Boston he decided computers were the future and moved permanently to Boston (after attending Woodstock) to pursue a career in technology. Mid-career, Bob switched from writing computer programs to marketing computers, explaining technical jargon in ways that made sense to non-engineers. He worked with many start-up companies during the dot.com boom.

Bob met Carole soon after he moved to Boston. He was always surprised and thrilled that he and Carole found each other – how could it be that two people, so compatible, could find each other among so many other people? In 1976, after a nine-month cross-country trip in their VW van, Bob and Carole settled in Wayland, drawn by the bucolic nature of the town and the burgeoning Jewish community in metrowest Boston. Bob was a founding member of Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland.

A funeral service was held for Bob at Temple Shir Tikva on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Bob approached life with equanimity and a philosophical outlook. We will carry him in our hearts forever.

Charitable donations can be made to the Temple Shir Tikva Annual Fund or to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.