Robert Daniels

Robert (Bob) Daniels, age 96, passed away on March 31, 2025. Bob was born November 24, 1928, in Nampa, Idaho to Venice and Frances (Hamilton) Daniels. Bob’s father was a zone manager for Chevrolet and the family moved throughout the West. Bob grew up in many cities, including Spokane, WA; Great Falls, MT; Salt Lake City, UT; Oakland, CA and Portland, OR. When the family moved to Los Angeles, Bob decided to stay.

He attended George Washington High School, where he played football and was a member of the Pry-ton service club. He earned a scholarship to the University of Southern California, where he played freshman football. In 1951, Bob graduated with a Bachelor of Science in general business.

Bob began his career as an auditor for Union Oil Company, but he then transitioned into business systems analysis. He worked for The Capital Group before retiring from Garret Automotive.

After retiring, Bob channeled his energy into archaeology. He volunteered in the Zooarchaeology Lab at UCLA and was invited to join an archaeology project in Argentina. From there he worked an archaeological project in Denmark for six years and then he focused his energy on a project in Iceland for three years.

Bob worked as a citizen scientist on many projects. He dedicated seventeen seasons to the Gray Whales Census and Behavior Project, from 1995 to 2011. For a total of 596 days and over 2,200 hours near his home in Rancho Palos Verdes. He traveled to Midway Island to work on a bird study and a spinner dolphin research project. He went to Maui twice to work for a Humpback whale project run by the University of Hawaii. 

Bob loved to travel and was particularly fascinated by the archaeology of the Americas. Bob and his wife, Joyce, embarked on a journey to visit many archaeological sites in North, Central and South America. They even hiked the Inca Trail and explored Easter Island. Bob’s love of photography led them to discover the world of wildlife. They traveled to Canada to photograph polar bears, Alaska for brown bears, India for tigers, Antarctica for penguins and fifteen trips to Africa for wildlife large and small. 

Bob loved exploring the world with his family.  Many of his adventures were shared with his brother, daughter, son, granddaughters and great-grandchildren. Trips included river rafting in Idaho, traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway and going to Baja (eleven times) to have friendly encounters with gray whales.  

Bob was loved by many, and he made everyone around him feel special, but everyone remembers his great sense of humor. He kidded with everyone and there was always a smile or a wave to friends and strangers.

Bob is survived by his wife and partner of 49 years, Joyce; daughter, Jana; five granddaughters: Jen, Keri, Amanda, Kelli, and Melissa; nine great-grandchildren and his brother, Ron. He is predeceased by his parents Darrell and Frances, his son Bob Jr. and great great-granddaughter, Stella. 

Per Bob’s wishes there will no memorial, but the family will be scattering his ashes on the ocean off Kauai later this year. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to Palos Verdes Land Conservancy in his name.

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