Robert Rumel

Robert Scarlet Rumel

1948-2015

When our dad, Robert, was a little boy, he was Bobby, the youngest in line of a naturally artistic family.  Bobby went to William Penn Elementary School.  He loved to play soccer with his friends, and Mr. Bateman was his favorite, inspiring teacher who praise his art work and  helped start his artist identity.   He later attended Olympus High School where he was well known for his talent as an artist.

During high school he kept pigeons, which he loved with all his heart.  His dad built a coop for them.  His pigeons were divers.  They flew extra high into the sky and when he threw their food onto the ground, the birds heard it and came diving from out of the sky to get their dinner.  He often told stories of those well cared for pigeons.

Later he graduated from the University of Utah where he achieved a bachelors of arts, cum laude in Fine Art.  He was the president of the Student Art League where he was an entrepreneur in helping to providing active means for the art students sell their work, and to help fund tuition and art materials cost.   He loved traveling to new place and having exciting experiences.  While attending the University he was able to study abroad in Italy, France and Switzerland.  Later he directed artist’s tours to Scotland, England and Mexico.  He traveled as an exchange artist to Korea and enjoyed going to Ecuador, Canada and The Netherlands with art related business.

Great-grandma Scarlet lived in Los Angeles when he was a child.  His family took many trips to go visit her.  Fun times in the California sun, and being around the palm trees and bougainvillea enchanted him. We attribute this to beginning his “travel bug.”  Because of all the fun he had in California he returned many times through out his life.  When he became a father, he loved to take us to California were we went to many of the fun places he had loved as a kid, the beaches, Knott’s Berry Farm, and Disneyland to name a few.   One of our family trips to Monterey included an artist’s tour.   Our whole family painted at select sites, old missions, an ocean cove, and other lovely locations, at a new place each morning.  It was a favorite of our visits to Monterey.

Soon after graduating from the University of Utah, dad served in Los Angeles in the Great California Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He told mission stories to us regularly.  He loved that experience where he was able to strengthen his testimony and share the gospel.  While on his mission he met Bill, new member in the area whom he began their long lasting friendship.

Robert was extremely intelligent, charismatic and creative.  He loved to learn and had many interest.  He was a self-guided learner when as a child when he read the encyclopedia and dictionary, for enjoyment.  He utilized the library and regularly came back bring stacks of books.  He was knowledgeable in language, science, arts, history, gardening, travel and nature.  He was always a student.

He frequently he carried a sketchbook, or located a sheet of paper or even used the restaurant paper placemat to do a quick drawing.  He was enthusiastic to entertain and to captivate people with an instant sketch.  He knew the use of many mediums such simple pencil and ink,  to paints and clay,  to very accurate printing…  He was an ARTIST.

An especially wonderful family experience was living in The Netherlands.  Bosch Corporation’s graphics computers were new and popular and they needed trained operators.  They recruited him to go a Hilversum business as an in house trainer.  We all have many happy memories of living there for three months as he went to work in the day and as we all went exploring The Netherlands in the evening and on the weekend.  We made friends with the DeVos family and 15 years later we all returned to visit them.  It was an epic family return trip, which included going to England, France, Belgium and The Netherlands.   When he traveled either on his own or with all of us, going to art museums was always a must.  He was able to teach his children to love the beauty in many art pieces.

Hawaii and Alaska visits had been dreamed of for a long time.  He and mom went to Hawaii and were able to go snorkeling in Hanami Bay.  His daughter Rachel served a mission in Alaska, and the three of them later went together to see the area and her friends there.  They saw the caving of glaciers and the swimming jellyfish in waters as smooth as glass, on a rare August day.  Whenever we went on trips his camera was in ready to take pictures of the family, cloud filled skies, animals, beautiful landscapes and flowers.  His example has given us children his same “travel bug” and his “photo bug.”  He was an artist in photography.

He had a company that printed billboards and building boards that were huge and they could drape the whole lengths of buildings.  This lead him to moving the family to California were much of his work was for movie studio’s new released movie promotions.   We enjoyed living in California for two years in a house he selected because of the swimming pool and the garden fences covered with bougainvillea and jasmine.

He loved the beauty of roses and in recent years he particularly cared for roses in the front of the house.  He put banana peels around them to help give the roses potassium. They grew well.  Every year he began seedlings for the vegetable garden in February.  Our family enjoyed the fresh vegetables throughout the season.  As a family we pick raspberries from the yard, made messy grape juice from our grapes, picked peaches from our trees to have peach milk shakes, and we ate yummy squash as part of Sunday dinner.

Robert was hard working and did his best to provide for his family, often working two to three jobs at a time.  Teaching art class was something he loved and he taught many students through out the years.   He was teaching up to the time of passing.  When his artwork required  careful detailing and concentration, he would stick his tongue out a bit and slide it between his lips, a true artist expression.

He entered works of art in various contests and shows.  He enjoyed entering the county or state fair and often came away with a worthy prize.  His first art prize was in the county fair in the youth division.

He loved to be on the front line is new methods and new artistic ideas particularly with computers.  He created a smooth, realistic 3D sculpture of LaVell Edwards from the computers rough cut by using methods that combining traditional art and the new technological advancements of the computer generation.  He used his art printing skills to reproduce many lovely piece including a restoration the panorama panels of early church history by CCA Christensen.  He worked to do his best and often then gave credit to the Lord for tender mercies when works began to fall into place.  He recognized the successes of his projects often as miracles and gave credit to the Lord for blessing his efforts.

Robert loved our dog Roscoe.  Roscoe was his best little friend.  Roscoe would always snuggle close to dad as he sat to watch t v or to use his computer.  They went for walks and play with a soccer ball on the lawn.  He loved having Roscoe sleep on a beanbag chair while he painted in the studio.  Roscoe loved to play ball.  In order to get someone to participate with him, Roscoe dropped the ball from to second floor loft, into middle of dad’s classes.  The dog usually found a willing participant to volley the ball back up over the loft railing, repeatedly.  Often the peaceful studio would suddenly resound with the loud thud of the tennis ball bounce.  Up at the edge of the loft you could see a cute little dogface, looking down saying, “play ball?”

Sometime Robert was the one wanting to play and act like a child.  He would tease and joke and laugh.  Little children loved to have one of his wiggle handshakes.  He enjoyed being silly.

These are all the beautiful, wonderful things that we will always remember about Robert Scarlet Rumel, artist and father, teacher and student, traveler and entrepreneur, husband and friend.   We his children have attempted to write about a few things to as a way to remember his love, his spirit, his talent, his life.  He will be greatly missed.  We are happy have known him and we love him.

Robert Scarlet Rumel, 67, passed away incident to diabetes. February 4, 1948 to April 28, 2015.

Service 1:00 p.m., Saturday May 9.  Butler 20 ^th Ward, 1355 East 7200 South, Cottonwood Heights, Utah.  Visitation 11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. prior to service at the church.