Robert (Bob) Sherwood Murch died February 12, 2024, after a private and courageous 8-½ year battle with cancer.
From early childhood, throughout his long and distinguished career, Robert was fascinated by the possibilities that engineering could offer and consistently focused his talents there. He was one of those fortunate individuals who was paid to be doing the work that he wanted to do anyway. Always kind and caring, Bob embraced life with a twinkle in his eye, and a devastatingly clever sense of humor.
A New York native, Bob had close ties with both Rochester, New York and Burlington, Vermont. His father, a WWII veteran, studied at UVM, while Bob rode his tricycle there. Bob always knew that he wanted to be in television communications and steered his scholastic endeavors and military assignments to maximize those experiences. For example, he was the lighting expert for high school theatrical productions, earning him an honored Thespian Award.
Upon graduation, Bob began his studies at University of Vermont (UVM) managing the College Radio Station, WRUV, for three years, and graduating with his BS degree in Electrical Engineering in 1971.
Following graduation from UVM, Bob served in the military in Germany, as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Signal Corps. He then joined American Forces Network (AFN) as the first Chief of Television Engineering, when he built the first color television AFN Station in Bremerhaven. Soon after, he was recruited to become the youngest Chief Engineer for WPIX in New York City. Bob’s next career move was to the United Nations. During the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations, he inaugurated the use of video conferencing for international use.
In 1996, Bob joined News Corp, as Vice President of Engineering and Systems for American Sky Broadcasting. In 1998, he transferred to Fox Television Stations as the Vice President of Engineering and Systems, with responsibility for the engineering efforts across all 28 owned and operated television stations. After leading the engineering organization through the implementation of innovative, cutting-edge technology for 18 years, he retired in 2016.
Robert Murch is survived by wife, Dr. Nancy Sears, two sons, Thomas and John (Jeanine), two grandsons, Travis and Tiberius, and three granddaughters, McKenzie, Sophia, and Scarlet.
His nephew, David Sears, said of Bob, “The biggest mark Bob leaves on me is to be a joyful lifetime learner. He was highly, highly intelligent but humble in conversation; engaged and willing to teach.
Bob’s type of selfless drive is contagious. There’s so much good to say about Bob, and others will, but to keep it short – What a guy!”
Family will receive visitation Monday February 19, 3:00-7:00pm at the Fred D. Knapp Funeral Home, 134 Hamilton Ave., Greenwich, CT.
Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, February 20 at 10:00am at First Presbyterian Church of Greenwich, 1 West Putnam Ave., Greenwich,
CT. Burial will follow in the St. John’s Church Cemetery in Yonkers, NY.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Robert S. Murch Scholarship for Excellence in Electrical Engineering at The University of Vermont Foundation, 411 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401 Attn: Maxwell Seeland, or online at https://go.uvm.edu/murch.