Robert Charles (Bob) Genasci
“A life that touches others lives on forever.” This quote so perfectly embodied our dad, Bob Genasci.
Robert Charles (Bob) Genasci was born February 3, 1934, and his journey through this life ended on December 4, 2024, at the age of 90. He was born in San Francisco, California and raised on his family’s ranch in Loyalton, California. Besides helping with the family ranch while growing up, Bob was involved in athletics, FFA, 4-H, and was student body president at Loyalton High School, where he graduated in 1952.
He attended University of Nevada, Reno, graduating in 1957. He was a member of the ATO fraternity and was on the university’s boxing team, ending up second at Nationals, unable to defeat just one boxer during his four years, Hal Espy.
After graduation, he took a teaching position at Lassen High School in Susanville, California. He was living the bachelor high life, working, hunting, and fishing, until the Father’s Day picnic when he met the love of his life, Carolyn Priddy from North Carolina, with her beautiful red hair and sweet southern accent. He was smitten. They were married five months later on November 26, 1958, in Fallon, NV, and were a team, supporting each other in the kitchen and through life. Their daughter, Linda, was born the following September, followed by son, Paul, and daughter, Angie. Family meant the world to Bob, both the family he grew up with and the family he created.
While at Lassen High School, he taught science and math classes and coached football, basketball, and wrestling. Many former students and athletes have stories to share of him as a coach and teacher and we have enjoyed hearing those stories through the years.
In 1967, he had the opportunity to get his Master’s Degree. So, Bob and his family moved for the school year while he attended University of California, Davis, and then moved back to Susanville a year later, when he began teaching full time at Lassen Community College. There he taught a variety of science classes as well as work experience. From 1979-1997, he was the athletic director, a job that gave him much joy and a few headaches. He was honored in 2022 by having the LCC Sports Complex named in his honor; current athletes now practice and play games in “The Bob” where he set a standard of excellence for LCC coaches and athletes, building one of the strongest programs in the state of California. He was also instrumental in starting summer sports camps at Lassen college for grades K-12, with many of those kids going on to compete for LCC.
He loved to hunt chukars, pheasant, deer, and especially enjoyed elk hunting in Rico, Colorado each year with Paul and friends. He fished at Eagle Lake and Dismal Creek while camping in the Warner Mountains, and played golf across the country. He coached the college golf team and successfully managed Emerson Lake Golf Course with Carolyn from 1982-1997. Their retirement years were spent snowbirding to Sun City, AZ, so they could golf year round. Woodworking projects were something else he enjoyed; his woodworking projects adorn friends’ and families’ homes. He enjoyed being in the kitchen cooking meals at the ATO house for his fraternity brothers, making cookies and fudge for family during the holidays, and cooking dinners for golf tournaments and Carolyn’s sorority sisters, friends, and family. If you were lucky enough to have a meal cooked by Bob, you left with a full belly and a smile on your face.
From the time he was a child to the year he passed, Dad was always known to think and care about others. He gave his time and energy to everyone around him, and in the process he built a community that was better and stronger for him having been a part of it. Over the years we have heard many stories from community members, students, friends, and family about how Dad shared himself with them, how he brought something to their lives and through that giving he gave something special to each of us. We will miss our dad but know that his spirit lives on within each of us and those whose lives he touched.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Carolyn, in July of 2022. He is survived by his daughter, Linda Dunn and her husband, Brian, in Susanville, CA; his son, Paul Genasci, and his wife Lee Anne Stigers in South Lake Tahoe, CA; and his daughter, Angie Genasci, and her husband, Chris Danch, in Ojai, CA. He is also survived by their families, including the many grandchildren and great grandchildren who brought smiles to his face each time he saw them.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. at the old clubhouse, 470-835 Wingfield Road in Susanville, CA.
Donations in Bob’s name can be made to the Lassen High Alumni Association, Lassen Community College Foundation, Lassen Plumas Retired Teachers, Diamond Mountain Men’s Club Scholarship Fund, or a charity of your choice.