Robert Lee Doss Jr. died on Sunday, Sept. 7, from pancreatic cancer. He was 68.

Robert, also known as Butch or Bob, depending on when and who was asking, was born on April 3, 1946 in Tifton, Ga. He grew up in the Los Angeles area; came into his own, building a strong community of friends and business associates in Anchorage, Alaska. Robert laid his roots in the East Coast in Providence and Narragansett, R.I., where he found his love, Barbara Lee Bodin.

Ultimately, the two married and found paradise on Martha’s Vineyard in the house they built together with their own hands. Robert studied literature and business at UCLA and law at Loyola Marymount University. He practiced all three throughout his life as a pension consultancy owner with a book-a-day habit.

Robert was a loving, playful father who always read stories with the best voices, encouraged the most daring adventures, and taught his children about the curiosity and tenacity it takes to write your own life story.

Nothing said heaven to Robert like a baseball game and a hoppy IPA; he loved discovering the lore of the sport in the players’ stats and stories. Robert spent his last decade in the oasis he and Barbara created in Tisbury.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Lee Bodin; his children, Robin Doss, 30, Tad Doss, 28, and Kristian Seney, 31; sisters, Elizabeth D. Berryman and Laurie Drake; and three nieces, grandnieces and grandnephews.

Robert believed in making the world a better place through acts of kindness and generosity, and asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the National Pancreas Foundation in Boston.

A celebration of his life will take place in April 2015 in the Boston area.