Reverend Dr. Robert W. Blaney (’66)
The following obituary was originally published by Santa Cruz Sentinel Featured Obituaries and can be found here.
It is with deep sadness that we inform you that Bob Blaney died in Santa Cruz on November 3, 2025. After studying in Mexico, Geneva and Berlin he received his Masters in Divinity and a Doctorate in Theology from Boston University School of Theology. Bob began his ministry in 1958 in Southern California and served as pastor for the Brentwood Methodist Church and the Los Feliz Methodist Church in Los Angeles.
After serving as a Methodist Minister, he served for 30 years in a special Appointment to teach at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. He was a Professor in the Religious Studies Department where he taught courses such as Social Ethics, Christianity and Communism, Church in the Modern World, Biomedical Ethics, Human Sexuality and Christianity and several summer institutes on Nonviolence as a means to social change. He led several educational tours to Europe including a study tour on the life of Bonhoeffer and several tours on Christianity and Communism in Eastern Europe prior to the fall of the Berlin wall. He was also the Chair of the Religious Studies Department for many years before his retirement in 1996.
Bob was an advocate for Social Justice for Farmworkers, the LGBTQ community and oppressed minorities. While at UOP, he served as liaison between the Annual conference and the National Committee on the Church and Higher Education and was instrumental along with Bishop Talbert in establishing the Council of Bishops’ Scholarship Program. Bob also served on the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, the Conference Committee on Christian Social Concerns and he chaired the Conference Committee on Higher Education.
Upon retirement, Bob and his wife, Laurel, moved to the Santa Cruz area where he remained active at Aptos United Methodist Church. He also chaired an ecumenical retreat for retired clergy and spouses among many other activities.
Bob is survived by his loving wife, Laurel, his daughters Martha and Joy, and his grandchildren David, Elizabeth and Isabella. He met his beloved wife Laurel in Maine and they were married for over 63 years. He died at home peacefully. There will be a memorial service on December 27th at Aptos United Methodist Church at 11am.