Robert William Moses was born in Bakersfield, CA in 1946. He passed away January 1, 2023. As he would jokingly say, he enjoyed eight years as an only child until his sister Cheryl was born, followed by Cathy four years later, and Lynnda four years after that. He had a happy childhood and told many stories of his adventures with his cousins Phil and Dennis Moses at the Kernita Park/Edison farm of their grandparents. He was proud to say that his parents took him to Disneyland the 3rd day it was open. The family was very active at First Christian Church, where he made many friends.
Bob attended Longfellow Elementary, Washington Jr. High, and Bakersfield High School, where he was a loyal Driller and proud member of the class of 1964. After high school, Bob married Kathy. They had two children before divorcing. Bob later met Patsy Rosten and they married in 1981. Bob was a loving stepfather to Pat’s children.
Bob owned Acme Loan and Jewelry for many years, which turned out to be the perfect job for his social nature. There was often a backgammon game in progress on the board drawn in Magic Marker on the counter. Friends dropped by to visit throughout the day, and when the store was quiet, he would walk around the area getting a coke at a deli or his favorite Hostess cupcakes at the convenience store on the corner. He knew everyone within a two-mile radius of the store. Later, Bob worked for his friend at John T’s, and then at Takken Shoes. He enjoyed walking around the Valley Plaza talking to people, and soon had a whole new group of work friends. He was also an animal lover, saving worms from wet sidewalks, snails from the street, and making friends with every animal he encountered. Bob never knew a stranger. He is probably in Heaven right now petting all of the dogs and “passing out popularity cards” as he would say.
Bob became a runner in the late 1970s. He was a member of the original McDonalds group, and made many lifelong friends in the running community. He often ran to and from work, sometimes wearing the altitude simulator that made him look like an alien. He enjoyed running stadiums at Griffith Field. He would run up and down the stadium steps, often on a hot afternoon, wearing a backpack filled with rocks. He would take out a rock before starting the next set of stairs and keep going until the backpack was empty. He was part of the early ultrarunning movement. (he would want it mentioned here that he owned every issue of Ultrarunning Magazine) His first ultra was the Cow Mountain 50 miler in 1981, where he received a memorable trophy. He ran his first 100 miler at Western States in 1982, with many other ultra races to follow. He was especially proud of his sub-24 hour finish at Western States in 1984. He was a regular at the Catalina marathon and Catalina 50 miler, prompting a friend to describe walking around Catalina with him as “hanging out with the mayor”. Pat joined Bob on running adventures, and they ran thousands of miles together.
Bob was delighted when grandchildren came along, and enjoyed showing pictures and telling stories about them to anyone who asked. (and probably many who didn’t ask) He loved taking his grandchildren to McDonald’s or to frozen yogurt, followed by fun time at the park. In 2019, Bob and his sisters were happy to discover that they had an older brother, Norman Gould, who had been given for adoption at birth. The siblings enjoyed getting to know one another until Norman’s death later that year. In retirement, Bob, Pat, and their dog Bitsy were regulars at Riverwalk Park, and made many friends there. Bob also enjoyed running with his good friend Mic and socializing at Bagels and Blenderz after. Bob is survived by his wife of 42 years, Patsy; Children Michael, Sandy, Michelle, Ethan; ten grandchildren.
Bob’s family would like to thank the staff at Brookdale Riverwalk Clare Bridge (memory care) for their compassionate care and dedication in Bob’s final months. They treated him like family.