Bob Groome, a former radio chief engineer who went on to a 41-year career in broadcast sales, marketing and technical support, died this month at age 77.
According to his Facebook page, he passed away May 17 at his home in Florida after a long battle with cancer. At his death he worked in sales engineering for RF Specialties.
“Although his working career extended an extraordinary 59 years, he was particularly proud of his technical position in 1963, working on NASA’s Apollo project, as a lead (PWB) technician for General Electric, on contract supporting NASA in Daytona, Fla.,” according to an obituary on his Facebook page.
“But his love of music and technology ultimately led him to the broadcast industry, beginning with his very first job at WOOO radio (1310 AM) in Deland, Fla. in 1961, as chief engineer and DJ personality ‘Bob the Bachelor’ and later, chief engineer at WGCL radio, Fort Myers, Fla., from 1969–76.”
Radio World readers will know him best for his work with numerous prominent equipment and service companies including Audio Associates, Harris Broadcast, Allied Broadcast Equipment, Arrakis Systems, Jampro Antennas, Electronic Research Incorporated (ERI) and RF Specialties.
“As a member of Society of Broadcast Engineers, Bob authored and presented papers at local, regional and national conferences. Bob presented to Mexico’s Ametra, Japan’s InterBEE and Canada’s CCBE meetings. He presented papers and was invited to attend engineering roundtables at professional conferences held by Texas Association of Broadcasters, Broadcasters’ Clinic, Iowa Public Symposium, Tampa’s SBE Symposium, among others.”
According to the obituary, Groome was a spiritual man and a devoted Christian. His interests included technical projects such as building an electric car, computers, collecting music, woodworking, and visiting the traces of the “old Florida” of his youth.
“He loved his wife [Philippa Jeffreys], Krispy Kremes, Rod McKuen poetry, the ocean, and Tina Turner. He watched ‘Young Frankenstein’ at least once a year. Everyone loved his crooked smile.”
Groome maintained a website, the Sweet Old Bob Website, www.bobgroome.us that includes FM and AM formula calculators “to help his radio broadcasting comrades with their work. This site is up and helping others at the time of this writing, and we hope to maintain this website to honor Sweet Old Bob, the wonderful husband, dad, brother, grandfather and friend who touched so many lives and will be dearly missed.”
A family service is planned at a future date.
