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Remembering Bob Giesy - Guest post by Jen Burch with Rachel Giesy and Rev. Gary Heaton

29 Apr 2020 4:23 PM | Jen Burch (Administrator)



Bob Giesy (1940-2020) dedicated his life to sharing a sense of joy and a love for outdoor recreation and for Christ with generations of young people. 


Rosemary & BobIn 1964 Bob was sent by the General Board of Global Ministries of The UMC as a US-2 to serve as a group worker with inner city boys at the Wesley Community Center in St. Joseph, Missouri. Through the US-2 program he also met his wife of 53 years, Rosemary.


From 1966-1969 Bob continued serving as a group worker with inner city youth, now at Wesley House Centers in Nashville, TN. Then from 1969-1971 he became Executive Director of Camp Widjiwagan, Nashville YMCA.


In 1971 a childhood friend from Houston, TX and UMC minister, Glen Langston, recruited Bob to Virginia, where he became Executive Director of Camp Highroad in Middleburg. There he was an early practitioner of the decentralized, small group camping model. 


From 1980-1982  Bob was President of the Chesapeake Section of the American Camping Association. Following that time, Bob served for 13 years as Superintendent of the Rockville (MD) Civic Center Park. 


Bob telling stories at Alta Mons

In 1995 Bob returned to United Methodist Camping, where he served as the first Executive Director of Camp Alta Mons in Shawsville, VA, and where he became known for spinning Willie Jack folktales.


Following his retirement in 2006, Bob and Rosemary moved to Charleston, SC just in time to become grandparents to four active grandkids. He continued to lead group games and tell stories to friends, family and the non-profit organizations he supported. He was an enthusiastic member of Bethel UMC in Charleston, SC.


We're grateful to God for Bob's well-lived life of service and for his lasting contributions to outdoor ministry in the United Methodist tradition. 


Read Bob Giesy's obituary here.



Rev. Gary Heaton reflects...


It is difficult to conceive how God used Bob Giesy to mold my experience of the Body of Christ. His faith, devotion to family, and passion for outdoor ministry were generously shared with generations of people whose faith journey led them to camping.   


My first exposure to Bob was through a camp counselor, Ron Robey, whom Bob trained and instructed in the the art of Small Group Camping. Bob was among a devoted group of Camp Directors who adopted the Small Group camping philosophy championed by John Ensign, author of the classic "Camping Together as Christians." That philosophy was passed from John to Bob to Ron to me, and I continued to pass it on through my own ministry. Ron answered the call to leave public school teaching to become a career UM Camp Director and I answered a call into ordained ministry that kept me deeply invested in camping.


All across Virginia, generations of campers, counselors, and colleagues were blessed by Bob's infectious smile, corny stories, and confidence in how the Holy Spirit works through a relationship with the out-of-doors. Ron Robey, John Hall, Barry LeNoir, Jen Burch, and Russell Davis (just to name a few) have all been touched by the wake of Bob's leadership in UM Camping and Retreat Ministry in the Virginia Conference. Bob introduced me to my future wife Beth at Camp Highroad and years later I was privileged to hire his daughter Rachel as a camp counselor at Camp Alta Mons. Over the years, I learned many things by watching Bob, and some of his wisdom took time to come to light. For instance, Bob would hire people who did not have outwardly perfect qualifications for working summer camp. He hired me when I was a bit too young to work at residential camp; he hired my wife Beth when she was a little unsure of working for a church camp; he hired John Hall as maintenance staff and he grew into a Program Director. Bob seemed to find people to work at camp who might be out of step or maybe challenged by some social, physical, or emotional liability. Yet time and time again Bob's wisdom was proved amazing by how the summer camp staff would come together into a cohesive and highly functional whole. (1 Corinthians 12!)  His gift was a keen understanding of the interdependence of the Body of Christ and the way the Holy Spirit works over time in an outdoor setting. I am sure there are many more names that I have left out who were touched by Bob Giesy's life and ministry (you know who you are). I mostly want to express sympathy to Rosemary and the girls and my gratitude to them for sharing their wonderful father and husband with United Methodist Camping and Retreat Ministry. We are blessed to be part of that family. 


Gary E Heaton

Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Charlottesville, VA




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