Robert Edward Pidgeon of Winchester, Virginia, formerly of Wadesville, Virginia, passed on to his heavenly home on Wednesday March 15th, 2017 surrounded by his children. He recently celebrated his 92nd birthday. Born on February 6th, 1925 In Cambridge City, Indiana, he was the son of Samuel and Eunice Kenworthy Pidgeon. He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Donald and David Pidgeon, his first wife Mary Earline Armantrout Pidgeon and second wife Naomi Pidgeon. A WWII veteran, Robert served in the Navy as a bombardier in a land-based utility squadron. He served in the Philippines and was stationed in the Admiralty Islands at the end of the war. Upon returning to the States he attended the University of Maryland on the GI Bill where he graduated in 1950 with a degree in Poultry Management. In the summers he served as a lifeguard at Virginia Beach, Virginia where he met his future wife. In 1949 he married Mary Earline Armantrout and moved to the family farm in Wadesville, VA which has been in the Pidgeon family for more than two hundred years. There he raised beef cattle, working also for Southern States and then Doubleday Book Publishing Company in Berryville as a press supervisor for twenty years. For many years Robert also owned and operated the Opequon Creek Family Campground on the farm property as well as providing land for the operation of Shenandoah Valley Grace Youth Camp and Opequon Quaker Youth Camp. He was also a lifelong charter member of the Clarke County Ruritan club. He was a very creative, intellectual person, having tested to be a member of the Mensa Society at age 65. Robert had numerous hobbies including bee-keeping, rock polishing and jewelry making, mechanical repair, wood-stove building, photography, fishing and was a gifted, engaging storyteller with a deep imagination. For years he continued the saw sharpening business his father had started in a shop on the farm. His most prolific hobby was pottery and he was part of the Shenandoah Potter’s Guild in Winchester, VA. His creations still grace the homes of his family members and many friends. He was a lifetime member of Hopewell Friends Meeting where he was active for many years, serving as clerk of quarterly meeting. Because of his love for books and voracious appetite for reading, he could comment on nearly any subject and his breadth of knowledge was remarkable. Robert was a faithful Christian member of the Society of Friends (Quakers) and read the works of the denomination’s founder George Fox. He was fond of the following quote: “And when all my hopes in them (local priests and preachers) and in all men were gone, so that I had nothing outwardly to help me, nor could tell what to do, then, oh, then, I heard a voice which said, ‘There is one, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy condition,’ and when I heard it my heart did leap for joy.” Robert is survived by four children: Charles, husband of Arlene of Brucetown, VA; Nancy, wife of Marlin Benedict of Lititz, PA; Carol, wife of Hal Addington of Cleveland, GA; and Daniel, husband of Janel of Wadesville, VA. He is also survived by a step-daughter, Sandy Reed of Fredericksburg, VA, eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at Hopewell Center Meeting House at 1 PM on Tuesday, March 28th preceded by visitation with family at noon. Memorial contributions may be made to Hopewell Center Meeting, c/o of Jim Riley, PO Box 165, Winchester, VA 22604.