MILTON FLAKE “BOB” CAMPBELL

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Milton Flake “Bob” Campbell passed away peacefully on March 15, 2025, in Chattanooga, Tenn., at the age of 89.

Bob lived a wonderful life full of love and adventure. Born in Taylorsville, N.C. on April 24, 1935, to Rowe and Sophie Campbell, he was valedictorian of his high school class and went on to graduate from Davidson College, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1957. Bob graduated from Duke University Medical School in 1961 and did an internship at Cornell Medical Center in NYC followed by residency in Ophthalmology at Duke University. He served in the U.S. Navy as a Lt. Commander and was director of the Eye Department at the U.S. Naval Hospital in St. Albans, N.Y., from 1966-68.

In 1968, Bob and his wife Penny moved to Greenwich, Conn., where he started his practice in Ophthalmology, establishing Greenwich Ophthalmology and growing it into a large successful practice which remains in business today.

Bob loved being a doctor and caring for his patients. He was Chief of Medical Staff at Greenwich Hospital from 1990-1993 and Director of the Eye Department at Greenwich Hospital from 1980 until his retirement in 2000. Bob met Penny, the love of his life, on a ship returning from summer adventures in Europe with friends. They discovered that they went to school not far from one another as Penny was at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Married in 1961, they raised their four daughters in Greenwich, Conn., and remained deeply in love when Penny passed away in Dec 2023 after 61 years of marriage.

In 2000, Bob and Penny retired to Vero Beach, Fla., and Middlebury, Vt., where Bob pursued a new passion as an artist and painter. Having never had art lessons, he started from scratch and became a prolific and talented artist. Painting brought him a great deal of pleasure and his many pieces featured the natural landscapes and birds of Florida and Vermont.

While in Middlebury, Bob and Penny joined the Congregational Church of Middlebury and got involved in the creation of the Town Hall Theater.

Penny and Bob shared a sense of adventure and loved to travel. They loved nothing more than planning their next trip, and they explored the world together, visiting a great variety of places such as Greenland, New Zealand, and Peru. Bob was well loved by all who met him. He was a kind and gentle man with a good sense of humor, a deep love of his wife, Penny, and his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He and Penny shared a zest for life and a love of nature. He will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him.

Bob was predeceased by Penny, his beloved wife of 61 years; his sister, Ann Campbell Brown; and his brother, Buck. He is survived by four daughters and their families: Kimberly and Wade Cobb of Middlebury, Vt., (James, Helen, Nathan) Heather and Mark Leonard, of Winchester, Va., (Meagan, Nicholas), Catie and Phil Resor of Middle Haddam, Conn., (Tucker, Grayson, Ben), and Sarah and Keith Baker of Chattanooga, Tenn., (Sophie, Sam). He was also blessed with three great-grandchildren, Evelyn and Declan Pampreen, and Johnny Cobb.

The family would particularly like to thank Tom Caliandro for bringing companionship and friendship in Bob’s later years. Thanks also to caregivers: Rena Whitley, Shamela Bonds, Darlene Pasley and the amazing staff at The Lantern at Morning Pointe in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Eastview in Middlebury, Vt., for their loving care.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Bob’s name to the environmental or humanitarian charity of your choice or The Foundation Fighting Blindness, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology or The National Audubon Society. A memorial service will be held Saturday, April 12, at 1 p.m., at the Congregational Church of Middlebury in Middlebury, Vt.

Arrangements entrusted to Lane Funeral Home, 601 Ashland Terrace, Chattanooga, TN 37415, (423) 877-3524, lanefh.com. ◊