Mention the name Bob Gilbert in Columbus and most thoughts turn to the much-beloved Mississippi University for Women professor and department head of 40 years, who passed away in 2017 at age 102.
His son, Bob Jr., lived in Columbus for only eight years, moving with parents to Columbus at age 10 as his dad began his teaching career and leaving to continue his own education, first at Vanderbilt, then at Alabama (master’s degree) and the University of Massachusetts (Ph.D).
Robert I. Gilbert Jr., 78, passed away Sept. 29 at his home in Memphis, where he spent most of his adult life building a successful career in real estate. His time in Columbus may have been brief, but his contributions to the people of Columbus and Mississippi will continue far into the future.
Known for his grace and generosity in life, his philanthropy is magnified in his passing. A lifelong bachelor with no heirs, Gilbert spent his final years preparing his will to benefit the causes and interests he supported in life — education, the arts and other causes both in his adopted hometown of Memphis and his childhood home of Columbus.
“Bob was such a wonderful, interesting, intelligent man,” said Betty Bryan, who along with her late husband, Wayne, were close friends of Gilbert for almost 60 years. “Bob made a very generous gift to the (Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science) Foundation in the name of his father and my husband after they both passed away within a couple of months of each other in 2017. That meant the world to me. Bob didn’t like attention. He didn’t want to make a big deal of these gifts. But now that he’s passed, I think everyone needs to know what a kind, generous, caring man he was and how much he loved and cared for Columbus.”
About a month before passing, Gilbert helped launch a chair in neurology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, with the Gilbert-Wilis Chair in Neurology to be fully endowed by his estate after his passing.
“I don’t want to speak out of turn, but there are probably a lot of other organizations here in Columbus and in Memphis that are going to receive funds from his will,” Bryan said.
In his obituary published in The Dispatch, Gilbert requested memorial contributions be made to Columbus Lowndes Humane Society, the Gilbert-Bryan Fund of the MSMS Foundation, the UMMC Gilbert-Willis Chair of Neurology or the Starkville Symphony.
Gilbert’s connection to MSMS was strengthened through his friendship with Wayne Bryan, whom he first met in middle school.
“They were friends right away and we’ve stayed in close contact with Bob ever since,” Betty said. “When our son, Allen, went to MSMS, they asked Wayne to be on the MSMS Foundation Board. Wayne recruited Dr. Bob (Bob Gilbert Sr.) and together they were a big help to the Foundation for more than a decade. They were both passionate about the mission of MSMS, and one of the things that meant so much to them was helping kids from rural areas who didn’t have the opportunities that MSMS provided. To them, it was about leveling the playing field for those kids. Wayne and Dr. Bob worked toward that goal.”
In 2018, Bob Gilbert Jr. announced he would provide funds from his will in honor of his father and Wayne Bryan.
“It’s certainly among the largest gifts we’ve ever received,” said Foundation office manager Sheila Kinder, declining to disclose the amount of the gift.
Columbus Mayor Keith Gaskin served as CEO of the MSMS Foundation at the time of Gilbert’s gift.
“He was a champ of a man,” Gaskin said. “He knew how hard his father and Wayne worked for the Foundation and his gift honors those men. Columbus and the MSMS Foundation is fortunate to have those three men pass our way.”
Helping UMMC
Gilbert’s help in creating the UMMC Chair in Neurology also came from his Columbus connection. As he battled the cancer that would ultimately claim his life, he reached out to a friend in Columbus, saying he wanted to use his money to support a worthy cause. The friend put him in touch with another Columbus native, Dr. James Keeton, professor emeritus at UMMC and former vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine.
“Bob was about four years younger than me, so I didn’t know Bob when we were both in Columbus,” Keeton said. “I only met him a couple of years ago. He told me he wanted to do something, but wasn’t clear at what it should be. I went to Memphis and talked with him and later we gave him a tour of the medical center. Dr. (Alissa) Willis was there with us and we started talking about creating a chair in neurology. He asked how much we needed right now to get it started, and I told him a figure. He said he would provide that and Dr. Willis said she would match it.”
At the time, the donations from Gilbert and Willis were considered seed money, providing about 10 percent of what was needed to fully fund the chair position. Willis is also a Columbus connection, having graduated from MSMS.
“A few days later, Bob called me and said that he wanted to do more,” Keeton said.
Gilbert immediately donated funds to secure half the total funding for the chair position with the other half to be provided through his will.
The UMMC Chair in Neurology is now fully funded.
“It’s a big deal,” Keeton said.
Although Keeton only knew his fellow Lee High graduate for two years, Gilbert left a great impression.
“He was such an unassuming man, but was so damn smart,” Keeton said. “He and I just bonded for some reason. He was just about the nicest man I ever met.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion