Robert A. Guertin

Obituary

Robert Arthur Guertin died peacefully in his sleep on March 25^th after a brief illness. Friends will be received at 10am, Monday March 31^st at St. Pius X Church in Greensboro. A memorial service will follow at 11am.

Bob was born on September 21^st 1936 to Henri and Marion Lee Guertin, née Bernhard of Mt. Vernon, NY. He graduated from St. John’s Preparatory in Danvers, MA, where his interests in tennis and golf were nurtured. They became lifelong passions. Bob attended Holy Cross University, and later, St. John’s Seminary in Little Rock, AR, where his training took him to Belgium for several years. While canvassing Europe by motorcycle, he cultivated a lasting appreciation of language, culture, adventure, and good cooking.

His entrepreneurial calling spanned Johnson & Johnson in Atlanta, Connecticut General Insurance in New England, Guertin’s Restaurant in New Orleans, and Guertin and Associates in Pittsburgh, PA. North Carolina will remember him best as the proprietor, with his wife Dolly, of the Greenwood Bed & Breakfast in Greensboro’s Fisher Park, where Bob’s New Orleans-inspired cuisine was widely renowned. Recently and for several years, Bob also served as a volunteer for the Hospice of Greensboro.  He will be especially remembered for his passion for people, good food, hospitality, story-telling, and his booming baritone voice.

Bob is survived by his wife, Dolores Guertin, of Jamestown, NC; brother Georges of Downington, PA, and wife Kathleen; brother Tom of Franklin, NC and wife Liz; son Henri of Baton Rouge, LA; son Georges Roch of Charlotte, NC, and wife Lynn, together with three grandchildren, Georgia, Georges Roch, Jr., and Reese; stepchildren Pam, Peter and Paula; and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Pius X Catholic Church, for kitchen facilities in the new building, or to the Hospice of Greensboro.