Bob Baty. Courtesy of his family
Robert Lawrence Baty II, a longtime Berkeley library worker who managed its facilities and maintenance department, died peacefully in hospice care on May 14 at age 77.
A good day for Bob might look like a round of golf with great friends or family followed by lunch and amusing conversation. Or a relaxed trip to Morro Bay to enjoy family, with board games and lots of cracking up around relentless teasing. Bob did not need world travel or fancy digs to be happy; he found joy in easy camaraderie, good food and friends, helping people out, and always his family.
He was born Oct. 7, 1948, in San Fernando, California. The oldest of four, he was a loving influence on siblings Carrie, Will and Mike. Bob attended De La Salle High School in San Fernando and graduated from Porterville High School. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and later a master’s in history, with an emphasis in Russian history, from UC Santa Barbara. Always a good student, he was a steady and positive role model to his younger siblings and a help to his busy parents throughout these years.
Bob Baty. Courtesy of his family
His first job was at Goodman’s Record Store in Porterville during high school, and it turned out to be formative in ways that echoed across decades. Bob emerged a devoted audiophile with expansive taste and genuine curiosity: Rolling Stones and Miles Davis, Cream and Pat Metheny, Jimi Hendrix and Bill Frisell, Weather Report and Frank Zappa, and scores of artists well-known and beautifully obscure. He had one of the earliest subscriptions to Rolling Stone magazine, read Downbeat for decades. Throughout his life Bob refined his stereo system in pursuit of something closer to perfect sound. Music wasn’t ambient for Bob. It was one of the genuine pleasures of being alive.
While studying at Cal Poly he helped out at the family liquor store in Morro Bay. A fishing town along Highway 1, the area attracted all kinds of travelers making their way up the coast and the shop stayed busy. It gave Bob an early and lasting appreciation for people in all their complexity.
Graduate school brought Bob to Santa Barbara and he loved it there, but it was a chapter, not a destination. He married, and later divorced, and eventually found his way north to Berkeley where things took hold. He bought a house, built a life and spent 22 years at the Berkeley Public Library, working his way up to head of facilities and maintenance. He was proud of that institution and its beautiful historic buildings, and he did what Bob always did: made his colleagues into friends.
His closest friendships were forged on the baseball diamond. Bob played in the City of Berkeley Baseball League and managed a team called the Ozone Rangers, a group that became, over the years, something closer to a lasting fellowship. Peter Budlong, Lon Poole, Mike McCormick, Matt Siegel, Katie Bliman, Suzanne Sattergren: these were his people, and they remained so for the rest of his life.
Golf was his game through most of his adult life, and few things suited him better than a round with good friends, or with brother-in-law Chet Zinn and nephew Charlie. He was a lifelong Oakland A’s fan and a close follower of the news, and he brought to any conversation the quality that made him genuinely good company: He listened as much as he talked, engaged with humor and real interest, and had a gift for the kind of exchange where everyone leaves feeling sharper. He was funny in the way that quiet people often are observational, well-timed, never at anyone’s expense.
Bob is survived by his sister Carrie Zinn and her husband Chet, their children Mary and Charlie; his brother Will Baty and his wife Mary Pierce; and his brother Mike Baty and his wife Erin, their children Alana and Liam. His nieces and nephews adored him, and the feeling was entirely mutual.
Bob spent his final years in Santa Rosa in the devoted care of his brother Will, who stayed close through five years with Alzheimer’s disease repaying, in his way, a lifetime of Bob’s quiet steadiness.
In his honor: Watch a ballgame, or better yet, go play one. Let some affectionate teasing happen. Donate to the Berkeley Public Library. Listen to some Pink Floyd. And vote for people who aren’t idiots.
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