Robert W. Long (1917-2010) Robert (Bob) W. Long passed away in Santa Fe, NM, on January 27, 2010. He was born on March 14, 1917, in New Albany, IN, to Frederick William and Anna Mary Long. He had three brothers and three sisters, all of whom he outlived. Bob lived his long life to the utmost. He was a scrappy individual who never let any obstacles deter him from achieving his goals. When he was 17, he rode his bicycle about 200 miles from his home to attend Indiana State Teacher's College in the middle of the Great Depression. Even though he was the first of his family to even attend a four-year college, he went on to get a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, in the summer before World War II. Bob always envisioned a better world for mankind. He worked tirelessly, always battling uphill for social justice. His desire that all workers be treated fairly led to his joining the Socialist Labor Party. When he worked as a research chemist at the Union Oil company during the War, he refused to be a "scab" or even cross the picket line when the refinery workers went on strike. He was fired by the company for insubordination, but they were forced to rehire him when he took the case in front of National Labor Relations Board with the help of the oil workers union. He ran on the SLP ticket for Governor of California in 1948 -- another uphill fight, for sure. Then he resigned from the SLP because he did not want to knuckle under to the whims of the party leadership. In later years, he was one of the charter members of the Green Party in California. Bob was married to Helen Pashcanoff on March 16, 1946. He decided that being a researcher at an oil company was not for him, and applied for a job as professor of chemistry at El Camino Junior College in 1950. At the height of the McCarthy era -- a dark time for liberal professors -- he resigned his professorship and moved with Helen to a farm they bought in Indiana, which he farmed for four years. Helen put her foot down and insisted that the family, which, by then included four-year-old Kathy, all move back to Southern California (and indoor plumbing). Bob was immediately rehired at El Camino, where he remained a professor of chemistry until his retirement in 1982. Bob and Helen lived in San Pedro, CA, for more than 42 years. The last eight-and-a-half years, they lived in Santa Fe, NM, to be near their daughter Kathy and her husband Brad. Bob and Helen were very proud to attend the swearing-in ceremony for Kathy as a new Santa Fe County Commissioner a year ago. In his youth and up to the last year of his life, Bob was an avid observer of nature and photographer, with a love of hiking and animals. One of his greatest pleasures at the end of his life was to feed and watch the birds in his back yard, particularly the blue jays. Every morning, he would call out, "Jay, Jay!" and his feathered friends would come for their ration of peanuts. The bonds of extended family were paramount to Bob. He is survived by his wife and best friend Helen; his daughter, Kathy Holian and her husband, Brad of Santa Fe; his son, Eric Long and wife, Aya Yoshino of Tokyo, Japan; numerous nieces and nephews; and a sister-in-law, Vera Lambase and her husband, John of San Pedro. His family would like to particularly thank his caregivers who lovingly looked after him at the end of his life: Zema, Karla, and Patricia. We would like to also thank the nurses and caregivers from PMS Hospice who were of invaluable help. Bob's ashes will be interred with his brothers in Indiana, where a Memorial service for the family will be held. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that Memorial donations be given to the: American Civil Liberties Union (New Mexico), the Los Alamos Study Group, or the Green Party of New Mexico. The Rivera Family of Santa Fe Funeral Options 417 East Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505)989-7032 Santafefuneraloption.com
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