Robert S. H. Fye

Robert Sturtevant Howard Fye, a senior at Yale University pursuing a major in Economics, died peacefully on Tuesday, January 8th, at his home in Middletown, RI. He was 23 years old. His death came after a courageous battle against cancer with which he was first diagnosed in 1999 at the age of 14. A devoted son, brother, and friend, his sense of humor and many achievements in his short time defied his illness. Through all the years, Dr. Edwin N. Forman, chief of Pediatric Oncology at Hasbro Childrens Hospital, directed Robs care with great dedication and compassion.Rob attended the Pennfield School in Portsmouth, RI through the eighth grade. He was a 2002 graduate of Middletown High School where he ranked among the highest in his class. He competed on both the varsity tennis and varsity swim teams and was inducted into both the National Honor Society and the French National Honor Society. Like his father and grandfather before him, he attained the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest possible rank in Scouting. A proud member of Yales Silliman College, he was awarded the Yale Club of New Yorks scholarship every year. In 2007, he was granted a Richter Fellowship which he used to conduct primary economic research. In 2005, he successfully captained Sillimans Relay for Life campaign to raise money for cancer research; his team came in 2nd for most funds raised within the University. During the summers, he interned for U.S. Senator Lincoln Chaffee, Morgan Stanley, and most recently for the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. Prior to his last relapse, he had been considering pursuing a degree in law. Born in Newport, Rob loved to sail and counted cruises with family and friends among his dearest memories. In the summer of 2004, with a taste for adventure on land as well as at sea, Rob and his friends embarked on an unforgettable, iconic cross-country road trip in a questionably reliable van. In addition to enjoying oil painting, he loved sketching and had had several comic strips published in the Yale Herald, the Yale student newspaper. His favorite times were spent with his friends from Middletown, from Silliman College, and from his Yale senior society. A scholar, sailor, and artist, Rob was courageous, good and true. His smile, compassion, sense of humor and wise counsel buoyed all who knew him and his memory will continue always to light the lives of those he touched.Robs parents, Robert Floyd Fye and Mary-Louise Sturtevant Howard Fye survive him, along with his older sister, Jessica Macomber Fye, and younger brother, Alexander Sturgis Macomber Fye, and his paternal grandparents, David Lingle Fye and Beatrice Alice Mugar Fye, of Wayland, MA. He is also survived by his aunts and uncles Pam and Henry Mauer, and Don and Kaia Fye of Wayland, MA; also Harry S. and Karen Howard of San Diego, CA and Nathaniel P. Read of Palm Beach, FL. He is also survived by cousins Kristin and Lauren Fye, Cynthia and David Mauer, and Brett and Devon Howard.Donations may be made in Robbys memory to the Tomorrow Fund, Rhode Island Hospital Campus, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02903-4947 or to the Robert S. H. Fye Memorial Scholarship, c/o Marybeth Manuel, BankNewport 528 West Main Road, Middletown, RI 02842.