Water Ouzel
By Bob Doyle
An unfamiliar song had caught my ear,
so I approached the stream to find the source.
A Dipper, startled by my step, took flight,
and paralleled the water's course.
Alighting far up stream, she perched upon a rock,
and like a common dowager, in company of royalty,
curtsied frantically to all who passed.
Many young men and women in the Wood River Valley were sent out into the world with a sense of history, as well as place, thanks to Bob Doyle. A longtime teacher at The Community School in Sun Valley, Doyle died Wednesday, Jan. 2, after a long fight with cancer.
His career as the chairman of the history department at The Community School began in 1989. He was also a basketball coach, taught public speaking and began the school's service program. The Community School gave him more than a career, however.
"I was the librarian," his wife, Carol Doyle, said. "He used a cubicle in the library to meet with students. I knew him since '93. When I knew he was divorced, I called him and we talked for a while. He thought I wanted a recommendation or something. I finally told him, 'I'm hitting on you.' We went from there, and married in 1997. It was a love affair. He always wanted to do a fun article on our love story."
Many people knew Doyle was a writer, but may not realize that he was a poet.
"He was published some in a very small way," Carol said. "He wrote well. They weren't sappy. One of the sad things for me is I don't have his voice. He was going to record himself reading his poems for me but he got so weak he couldn't do it."
Forty-three hours after Doyle died on Jan. 2, his sister e-mailed Carol to tell her that Bob's mother, Ruthie, was gone as well.
"They told her Bob had died," Carol said. "She said, 'He was a good son. I wish he would come get me. I'm so glad that Carol has been with him.' They were very, very close. He was the finest and most remarkable man. He was a class act and every day was a blessing."
Doyle's love of the Wood River Valley was profound.
"Every time we'd come over Timmerman Hill, after we'd been away, he'd sigh a sigh of relief and say, 'We're home again,'" Carol said.
Officiated by retired Community School headmaster John Maksik, a Bob Doyle's Day will bring friends and family together at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, at The Community School. There will be a shuttle-bus service from remote parking organized by the school. Parking areas have not yet been determined. Bob Doyle's Day will continue at the Wood River Valley YMCA at 6 p.m. for a more casual party with refreshments, some favorite music and an open microphone for any who would like to share a memory or a good Doyle story.