Death Notice – Bob Harrower
May 23, 2026
Robert "Bob" Harrower passed away on Wednesday, May 13, 2026 with family by his side. A small memorial will be planned for this summer in Pinedale.
Obituary - Robert ‘Bob’ Allen Harrower
December 13, 1936 — May 13, 2026
On May 13, 2026, the dogs were called and the fire extinguished when Bob Harrower passed away surrounded by family at the age of 89.
Robert Allen Harrower was born on December 13, 1936, to James King and Alice Harrower of Pinedale, Wyoming. Bob’s first home was the remote Willow Creek Ranger Station near Cora, Wyoming where his father worked as a forest ranger. The family moved into Pinedale to allow his older siblings to attend school, and Bob grew up hunting, backpacking, skiing, and mountain climbing. Bob graduated from Pinedale High School and then attended the University of Wyoming and earned a degree in civil engineering. Bob was a multi-year varsity letterman on the University of Wyoming downhill ski team. He also participated in the University’s mountaineering club and climbed numerous notable peaks throughout Wyoming and the surrounding states. These included Gannett Peak and the Grand Teton and he was also invited, along with his brother, Jim, and life-long friend Courtney Skinner, to climb Devils Tower National Monument during the 50th anniversary celebration. Also notable was his participation within the recovery efforts for the remains of the sixty-six people that perished when United Airlines Flight 409 crashed into Medicine Bow Peak in 1955, the biggest air disaster within the United States at the time.
Upon graduating from college, Bob participated within an Antarctica expedition, backpacked and hunted in New Zealand, and toured such locations as Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He finally began to make his way back to more familiar country, landing in Alaska where he flew float planes prior to making his way to Seattle where he then hitch-hiked back to the University of Wyoming and earned a Master of Engineering in Structural Engineering.
It was in Laramie that he met the love of his life and married Karen (Bjorn) Harrower and started a family. He worked numerous engineering jobs around the country from New Orleans to Philadelphia, focusing primarily on nuclear power plants. Upon returning to the Cowboy State, he and his family first lived in Opal, then on a remote ranch on the Hams Fork near Kemmerer, and finally returned to Pinedale where he started Rio Verde Engineering and worked jobs over the entirety of the Mountain West. He also served as the town engineer where he provided most of his services for free and volunteered his time and expertise to help construct the Museum of the Mountain Man. Bob continued to enjoy the outdoors through skiing, camping, hunting, and taking pack trips with his family. His wanderlust did not completely subside, and he participated in such events as a Friendship Flight that found him assisting his brother Jim to pilot a Helio Courier bush plane from Alaska to Russia that celebrated citizen diplomacy and shared World War II alliances.
He also continued his lifelong passion for restoring antique automobiles. Bob meticulously restored numerous Ford Model Ts, various buckboard wagons and horse drawn sleighs, and numerous other tractors, trucks, cars, gas pumps, hit and miss engines, and related memorabilia. Bob was never at rest, always working on his projects, improving his property alongside his wife Karen, sharpening his knowledge of local history, rooting for the Wyoming Cowboys, and espousing trademark witty quips.
Bob was preceded in death by his wife Karen, his brother Jim, and his sister Jean. Bob is survived by his daughter Kristin, sons Kim (Maura) and Heath (Sara), his younger sister Ruth (Pete) of Cheyenne, four granddaughters, and several nieces and nephews. A small memorial will be planned for this summer in Pinedale.
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