Robert George Gelinas of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, died peacefully at home on May 9th, 2026.
Bob was born in Lewiston, Maine on July 11th, 1958, to Pauline and Robert Gelinas. He was the sixth of seven children. He spent his youth volunteering for political campaigns, participating in the Boy Scouts, and staying up late drinking Mountain Dew. He graduated from Lewiston High School in 1976.
Bob met his wife Gabrielle when he was 28 and, having only just gotten his driver’s license that year, drove across the country to surprise her in California. They married in 1990, and soon started a family together. They raised their children Zoe, Dylan, and Skyler in Needham, Massachusetts. During this time, Bob encouraged his kids in all areas of life, including school, music, and other hobbies. He found all sorts of ways to show his love for his wife and kids, like handpainting their Valentine’s cards each year and coming to see them in countless plays and musical performances. He loved spending time with his immediate and extended family, enjoying many summers at gatherings in Maine and Maryland, and making memories with Gabrielle and their kids traveling throughout the country.
Bob took deep pride in his work. He got his first job mowing lawns in a cemetery in his hometown, where he and his family liked to joke that he “had a lot of people working under him.” He spent his summers in college working various jobs, including one at a shoe factory and another at General Electric. He graduated from the University of Maine in 1980, having studied at the school’s College of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Bob would remain an active member of the university's community, serving as a member and occasional chair of the advisory board for the College of ECE for over three decades. He continued to advise seniors at the college on their capstone projects as recently as this year while undergoing his cancer treatment.
In 1980, Bob began his career as a computer engineer at Data General, where he worked out of the company’s Westborough office for 17 years. From 1997 to 2003, he worked at Lexra in Waltham, Massachusetts. Following a brief period of freelance work, Bob joined Advanced Micro Devices in 2005, where he remained for nearly 20 years. While at AMD, Bob led teams in circuit design on 8 CPU cores and supported the design of many more. He also served on the company’s patent idea committee, accumulating 13 of his own patents over the course of his career. He spent the final leg of his career as a principal design engineer for Condor Computing.
Everywhere he went, Bob made friends. He cherished the relationships he gained through his work. He particularly appreciated the walks and lunchroom conversations he would share daily with colleagues. Through work he met his good friend, Elliot Mednick, with whom he shared many personal interests. The two designed and marketed a search engine called Filehand together in the early 2000s. Although he never really wanted to stop working, he retired from his long, dedicated career in November of 2026.
Throughout his entire life, Bob supplemented his passion for work with his numerous interests, hobbies, and deeply held values. His office (and much of his and Gabrielle’s home) was adorned with electronics he constructed like analog synthesizers and nixie tube displays. Bob was an avid reader and a lifelong learner, accumulating an impressive personal library filled to the brim with books on all sorts of topics, ranging from science fiction to Egyptology, law, quantum physics, theology, U.S. history, politics both global and local, and much, much more. He enjoyed staying up late making art out of fractal patterns that he simulated on his computer, transcribing compositions from Bach and Philip Glass to be played on his synthesizers, and writing political blogs. Bob was a strong supporter of civil discourse and disobedience. In 2011, he made almost weekly visits to the encampment in Boston’s financial district during the Occupy protests to drop off water and Pedialyte.
In 2014, he became an active member of the Boston Athenaeum, where he again found more friends and community. The Athenaeum quickly became one of his favorite places in the city, and he would work from there as often as he could. He became a docent and even delivered a “members choice” talk on Edward Everett Hale’s The Brick Moon, one of the first American science fiction novels. In 2025, he became a proprietor of the library. When he and Gabrielle moved to Jamaica Plain in 2024, he was excited to live in the city, and especially to be able to take the T to the Athenaeum.
Bob met his diagnosis with glioblastoma in August of 2025 with unbelievable grace, maintaining a positive outlook throughout radiation treatment, chemotherapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. He cherished the time he was able to spend with his first grandchild, Ruby, who particularly enjoyed curling up in his arms and playing with his beard.
Bob hoped to instill a constant sense of wonder and curiosity in his children. At this he certainly succeeded, and his family hopes to extend these values to Ruby and any future grandchildren.
Bob is predeceased by his mother Pauline Gelinas, father Robert Gelinas, sister Janet Beane, brother-in-law Joe Dessent, and dear friend, Elliot Mednick. He is survived by his wife Gabrielle Gelinas, daughter Zoe Webb (Joe Webb), sons Dylan Gelinas and Skyler Gelinas, sisters Claire Gelinas (Deborah Crump), Diane Gelinas, Jane Perry (Ron Perry), and Susan Quam (Jim Quam), brother Richard Gelinas, sisters-in-law Marilynn Duker (Dale McArdle), Laurie Duker (Jeremy Rosner), and Tracy Anielski (Jeff Anielski), numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins, and granddaughter Ruby Isabella Webb.
In lieu of flowers, the family instead asks for donations to More Than Words, a Boston area non-profit bookstore employing systems-involved youth, or Kim’s Hope, which provides financial assistance to glioblastoma patients and their families.
Gabrielle, Zoe, Dylan, and Skyler wish to extend their deepest appreciation to all the close family and friends who cared for Bob these past nine months, and to the staff of Beth Israel Deaconess Brain Tumor Center, Spaulding Rehabilitation Center, Mass General Brigham Home Care, Touching Hearts at Home, and Beth Israel Lahey Health at Home for the quality care he received both at home and at these facilities.
The family is planning a celebration of Bob’s life in June. More information will follow.