Robert William Dellinger

robert dellinger
Robert William “Bob, Bobby” Dellinger

Robert William Dellinger died February 1, 2022, at the age of 73. He was born August 28, 1948 in Washington, DC to Samuel Tucker Dellinger, Jr. and Phyllis Ann Jagoditsh Dellinger, and lived his entire life in northern Virginia. Bob received his BS degree in chemical engineering from Virginia Tech and his master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of MD.

Bob Dellinger was a devoted husband and father, a loyal friend and brother, and a member of OLGC Catholic Church in Vienna. He was a life-long athlete, playing softball and basketball as well as coaching youth baseball and basketball for 15 years. He was a skilled gardener who kept up the best yard in the neighborhood and grew hundreds of legendary and beautiful daffodils. He was a fanatic Virginia Tech Hokie, who never wanted to miss watching a basketball or football game, and he could recite from memory an enormous amount of Tech sports statistics. He loved Ocean City, MD, where he could play on the beach or go fishing with his children. Bob was the life of the party, and his smile and presence could light up a room.

Bob spent his entire career of 38 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters, working to reduce risk to human health and the environment. He established groundbreaking national wastewater discharge standards for several industries, led the establishment of national management standards for hazardous waste, and led EPA’s effort to address the need for source reduction, effective recycling, and management of municipal wastes. His final project was developing safe practices regulations for reuse and disposal of ash from coal-fired power plants. Bob held a variety of division director positions and was considered to be a towering presence at EPA, an honest and caring co-worker and supervisor, and a well-respected mentor to many.

Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Barbara Dembo Dellinger, of Vienna, VA, his son William Tucker Dellinger (Brittany) of Chantilly, VA, his daughter Brandi Elizabeth Dellinger of Reston, VA, 2 granddaughters, Reagan Parker Hill and Savannah Marie Dellinger, five nephews, one great nephew, and his siblings and cousins. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Barker Adoption Foundation, 7979 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD, barkeradoptionfoundation.org, or the Alzheimer’s Association, alz.org. A Celebration of Bob’s life will be held at Christ Lutheran Church, 3810 Meredith Drive, Fairfax, VA on Saturday, February 26, 12:00 noon with a reception to follow. To help ensure the safety of all guests, the family requests that visitors please wear masks regardless of vaccination status.

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  1. I, Patty Brown Devens, first met Bob in the early 1970s when he would travel to Williamsburg to visit his new girlfriend, Barb, who later became his wife. He became a friend then and remained a loyal friend through the years. Starting about 15 years ago, several of us William and Mary girls and our spouses would get together each fall for a Virginia Tech game, Bob the only one among us who actually went to VT. He had an extensive Virginia Tech wardrobe and he could indeed quote facts and stats. My husband and I loved Bob and will miss his smile and humor.

  2. I must miss the funeral service for my dear EPA colleague but wanted to express my deep appreciation and admiration for Bob. He was one of my best selections to be an EPA executive. He was a mainstay of the RCRA program. As his direct boss, I couldn’t have done it without him. He tackled the thorniest hazardous waste issues and came up with a clear and practical solution, accompanied by a smile and usually a funny story. He took so much in stride and, in so doing, helped me remain calm and confident of our RCRA regulatory actions. I enjoyed his humor and sharing stories of our children as they grew. I am angry at the disease that robbed him of his wit and wisdom, and finally robbed us of him. May eternal peace be with him now. Elizabeth Cotsworth


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