Bob Lanphier passed away on December 30th in Springfield, IL, although his home and his heart are at Glen Lake in Glen Arbor, MI. He lived a rich and fascinating life and leaves an adoring and inspired family.
He was born on 13 November 1932 in London, England. His parents, Robert C. Jr. and Mary Catherine, were from Springfield, Illinois. The family returned to the United States in August of 1939.
He attended elementary school at Highgate School for Boys (Highgate, UK), then Arnold School and Butler Grade School in Springfield, IL. He spent one year at Springfield High School before attending The Choate School in Wallingford, CT. Upon graduation, he spent a post-graduate year at The Harrow School outside London, England before attending Yale University in New Haven, CT where he earned degrees in Mathematics, Electrical Engineering and Industrial Administration. In 1956 he joined the General Electric Co and their Manufacturing Training Program before returning to Springfield where he joined the Sangamo Electric Co., a firm founded by his grandfather. He left Sangamo in 1967 to join a start-up company, DICKEYjohn Corporation, as Chief Executive Officer. The company designed, built, marketed, and sold electronic agricultural instrumentation to farmers and farm equipment partners. DICKEY-john was a one-person company when he started but by the time of his retirement the Company had over 1,000 employees and was one of the largest employers in the state of Illinois. Bob was honored to be elected to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering in 1992 and served as Chairman of a number of businessrelated organizations including the Farm and Industrial Equipment Institute, the American Society of Agriculture Engineers, and the Future Farmers of America. He also served on Advisory Boards for the Engineering College, the Agricultural College and the Finance College at the University of Illinois.
