Robert Sandercock

Rev. Robert George Sandercock, 96, died today, Friday, May 17, 2019 at River Landing in Colfax, NC.

Bob Sandercock was born in 1923 in Pen Argyl, PA, the quarry town to which his grandparents emigrated from Cornwall. He was the second of three sons born to William Henry and Alma Miller Sandercock. He was a graduate of Pen Argyl High School, Lafayette College, and Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York.

Bob was an all-around athlete who played football, basketball, and baseball at PAHS. He extended his diamond career by playing at Lafayette under Coach Bill Coughlin and while training in the U.S. Navy in 1944-45. Bob returned to Lafayette after the war as an instructor in engineering drawing before receiving a call to study for the ministry. While in New York, he met and married Julia Fennell Powers of Wallace, NC, a fellow seminarian.

An engineer by training, Bob was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in 1951, and served first as associate pastor at the Church of the Master in New York City with Rev. James H. Robinson, and then as chaplain at the Northfield School for Girls in Northfield, MA. In 1959, Bob was called to be the pastor of the College Hill Presbyterian Church in Easton, PA, where he served for more than 20 years. During his tenure at College Hill, Bob served as the moderator of the Lehigh Presbytery, was active in the civil rights movement, and was a frequent visitor to area hospitals, retirement homes, and the county prison. He mentored many students and married many interfaith couples who had few options then.

In 1981, Bob and Judy moved to Philadelphia where they worked for the Board of Pensions of the United Presbyterian Church, as the managers of Prentiss House, a residence for retired missionaries, and as retirement planning consultants assisting members of the clergy and their families. They later moved to Wallace, NC where they continued their work for the Board of Pensions, and Bob served as interim pastor of the Presbyterian churches there and in Hallsville, NC. They retired to River Landing in 2004, where Bob improved his golf game, continued to hold services, played in the band, and made many friends. Bob was a member of Salem Presbytery and was active at Guilford Park Presbyterian Church.

A child of the depression, Bob had a special fondness for apples and ice cream.

He is survived by his wife, their three children, John (Gwen Roginsky), Anne Metcalf (Edward), and Stephen (Tara), and four grandchildren, David, Elizabeth, Jeremy, and Meredith, as well as nine nieces and nephews.

A memorial service for Bob will be held on Saturday, June 8 at 11:00 am at River Landing at Sandy Ridge, 1575 John Knox Drive, Colfax, NC  27235.  The family requests that in  lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Greensboro Urban Ministry, 305 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro, NC  27406  https://greensborourbanministry.org/donate/  or to River Landing at Sandy Ridge, 2109 Sandy Ridge Road, Colfax, NC  27235 (please make checks payable to Presbyterian Homes Foundation, Inc. and specify River Landing at Sandy Ridge on your check)https://www.riverlandingsr.org/Ways-to-Give/.