Robert Howard Earhart

Dr. Robert "Bob" Howard Earhart dedicated his life to revolutionizing cancer treatment, pioneering research that directly improved outcomes for patients worldwide. After earning his M.D. and Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Northwestern University in 1972, he became a leading expert in developing safer, more effective chemotherapy treatments. Dr. Earhart's research on combination chemotherapies helped establish new standards of care, and his clinical trials in colorectal, prostate, and lung cancers opened new treatment pathways for patients who had exhausted conventional options. Throughout his 50-year career, Dr. Earhart's meticulous approach to clinical pharmacology—understanding not just whether treatments worked, but how to make them work better and more safely—translated into tangible hope for cancer patients and their families. Colleagues praised not only his brilliant scientific mind but his commitment to education, ensuring that his discoveries would continue to benefit future generations of patients through the oncologists he mentored and the treatment protocols he helped establish.

Bob's devotion to science and the well-being of his fellow men was only equaled by his love for his family - his beloved wife Orysia, daughters Katharine and Anne, and son Rob, as well as his cherished grandchildren Bren, Tristan, Axel, and Solomia. Family was his anchor and his purpose beyond medicine, and he gave generously of his time, patience, and heart to ensure their wellbeing. He without hesitation took in family members who were suffering, and gave his all to ensure they had everything they needed to live in love and peace. His legacy lives on not only in the lives he touched as a physician and researcher, but in the deep love he gave to his family circle, demonstrating daily that his greatest calling was not just healing patients, but caring for those closest to him.

The discernment and devotion that Bob bestowed on science and his family were the manifestations of his deep and profound spirituality, the foundation on which he built his life and to which he gave the same discernment and devotion. Bob spent considerable time and intellect reflecting on his personal understanding of and relationship to Catholicism as a secular Franciscan. The Franciscan values of living a simple, unadorned life, caring for the poor, and teaching of the Gospel allowed him a focused lens through which he examined the deeper questions of faith, existence and meaning that engaged him. In the last few years, he compiled these reflections into a written treatise, exploring the profound questions of faith that guided his life's work and relationships. His words from this work capture the essence of a man who saw no separation between his love of God, his dedication to healing, and his devotion to family.

In his own words “Our earthly persons are the vehicles for our eventual ascent, through God’s grace and through Christ’s teaching and example, to union with divinity and fulfillment of God’s loving plan. As mortal men, we can never hope to know God perfectly – but death opens the door for us to finally achieve that goal.”

Relatives and friends are invited to his funeral Mass on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at 11:00 AM in St. Cecilia Catholic Church, 1310 Madison Avenue, North Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.  The Rosary will be offered at the church beginning at 10:00 am. The interment will be made at 2:00 PM in the Hillcrest Cemetery 5535 Old Mill Road NE Bainbridge Island, WA 98110