Edina, MN - Robert Bruce Eyestone passed away at home on May 15, 2026, at the age of 83. He is survived by children David and Elisabeth (Jeffrey Chapman), grandchildren Samuel, Finley, and Isla, and by his partner of 15 years, Sandra Frojen. Surviving family also includes his sister-in-law Sandra Wodicka, brother Mark Eyestone (Irene), niece Kathleen (Tim Berg) and five grand-nieces and -nephews. Robert was preceded in death by his parents John Duncan Eyestone and Pauline Emma Gross, his wife Susan Wodicka Eyestone, and his sister Polly Eyestone. No service details are available at this time. His cremains will be placed at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.

Born in 1942, Bob spent his earliest years in army camps while his father served in Europe during World War II. After the war, the family settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and later in La Grange Park, Illinois. A high school ham radio project earned him recognition in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search and led him to study engineering, literature, music, and politics at M.I.T. He graduated in 1964 with a degree in Economics, Politics and Engineering and went on to graduate study in political science at Stanford, earning his Ph.D. in 1967. He married his high school debate partner Susan Anne Wodicka in 1965.

Bob and Sue moved to Minnesota, where he joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota and specialized in American politics and public policy. In south Minneapolis Bob and Sue raised their children, restored and loved their old house, and enjoyed cooking, gardening, wines, operetta, and watching cricket, soccer, and British television. They frequently entertained family as well as friends made through the university, the Minnesota PTA, their kids' activities, and the community. In 1973 the family spent a year in Scotland when Robert received a Fulbright fellowship at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

Bob was an early adopter of the home computer and in 1986 he left the university to continue work with Springboard Software (later Counterpoint/Spinnaker) on educational software including Piece of Cake Math and The Newsroom. He later moved to West Publishing and Thomson Reuters. He retired in 2008 but continued freelance coding work including acting as webmaster for Skylark Opera Theatre in St. Paul, a company with which he and Sue were both deeply involved.

After Sue's death in 2010, Bob traveled widely. In later years he and partner Sandy explored Europe and the United States, pursued genealogical research, and devoted themselves to meaningful local work, including efforts to identify and honor those buried in the Fergus Falls State Hospital cemetery. Bob also captured his travel memoirs and personal experiences in poetry and prose.