Robert Lloyd Schaibly Obituary

Robert Lloyd Schaibly attended Haslett High School in Haslett, MI. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Robert Lloyd Schaibly.

Graduation Year	Class of 1960
Date of Passing	Nov 11, 2019
About	Aug. 16, 1942 - Nov. 11, 2019 Rev. Robert Lloyd Schaibly "Bob" died in Portland Nov. 11, 2019 of throat cancer. He was born in Lansing, Mich., Aug. 16, 1942 to Robert Lloyd Schaibly and Dorothy Marie Strieter Schaibly. Bob was a child of the 60s. He was in his senior year of college at Michigan State University when Rev. Martin Luther King asked all who could do so to join him in a march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery and Bob went. It changed Bob's life to see religious institutions witnessing for justice and changing lives. After graduating, he worked as administrator for the First Unitarian Church of San Francisco. He graduated from Harvard Divinity School and was ordained at his first church in Chicago. His second church was in Concord, N.H. During this time, Bob was married to Elinor Berke. Though the marriage ended in divorce, the two remained friends until the end of Elinor's life. Bob's longest pastorate was at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, from 1982 to 2002. The church was the first sanctuary congregation in Texas for Central American refugees and started the first support group in Texas for gay and lesbian teenagers. During this time the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh named Bob a Dharma Teacher. Bob also spoke at rallies against the death penalty, for abortion rights, for the right to die and for marriage equality. Since 1991, he shared his life with Steven Storla. Bob and Steven chose to live in Portland after Bob retired from full-time ministry. The two men were married in 2015 on their 24th anniversary. Bob was active as a member of the First Unitarian Church of Portland where he preached and led adult religious education classes. In addition to Steven, he is survived by his sister, Rebecca Davidson and her husband, John; his brother, Bill Schaibly and his wife, Cathy; his brother, Ben Schaibly; and numerous nieces and nephews and grands. Memorial donations may be made to the endowment funds of the First Unitarian Church of Portland or the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston. The date for a memorial service will be announced later.