Rob Quoidbach (1949)

Rob’s parents emigrated to Longview from Belgium and he was born in Longview, in 1925 and attended Longview schools, including Lower Columbia College, until transferring to Stanford University to study civil engineering.  Rob was involved in many activities, he began playing in the R.A. Long band as an 8th grader.  He played the glockenspiel, cymbals and drums through his high school years. An accomplished skier and mountain climber, he climbed Mt. St. Helen’s 90+ times and started the St. Helen’s Ski Club setting up rope tows for skiers there. He had a passion for mountain climbing, skiing and rescue operations where he once saved the life of 3 people in a mountain top plane crash. A fitting accomplishment included carrying the Olympic flag in the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley.  Upon graduation from Stanford, he returned to Longview and became a partner in Quoidbach Construction Company where he helped build and grow the city of Longview. He was the co-founding director of Columbia Bank and served on numerous boards and committees including: Longview Building Code Board of Appeals, Board of Directors St. John Medical Center Foundation (earning their Tom Manning Award in 2000). He was also active in "tree farming" and was elected to the Washington Forest Practices Appeal Board, serving 10 years. Rob was awarded the LCC Foundation "Alumni of the Year in 2014."  He had a passion for helping others and generously supported local charities and foundations in his quest to improve the life of others.  He had a "quick wit" and "sense of humor" saying "I know not when my clear cut is scheduled, but now and then I'd like it said of me .... He tried to help humanity and plant a tree where he thought it should be."  His immediate family includes his first wife, Mary Lou (passed 1992), and 2nd wife Mildred (passed 2005) and is survived by three stepchildren Steve, Chris and Lisa Peterson.  Rob passed away in December 2015. Chris Peterson will receive this Lifetime Achievement Award for the Quoidbach family.