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George W. Cobb Memorial (1947-2020) 
George was an extraordinary person and I’m lucky to have known him. He always had a good word. We are blessed that he spent so much of his time changing statistics education for the better.
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George was a loving husband, father and friend. His mind was inquisitive and brillant. His warm smile and intellect will not soon be forgotten.
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George was intelligent, inquiring, delightful to be with and to work with. He left us too soon.
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George was brilliant and it was a delight to listen to him talk statistics, but even more than that I’ll remember how unfailingly warm, welcoming, and thoughtful he was. He’s truly one of the people I most admire.
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Dear Cousin George! We first met when he was nine years old and I played with him, Hunter, and Jane in their backyard in North Carolina. As “seniors” we met up at an Ethiopian restaurant in Los Angeles, Catalina Island off the coast of California, and at the beautiful wedding of Lee Tae and Tyler. George gave a wonderful speech for them! I’m happy to be part of the family with Cheryl, Lee Tae, Tyler, Hunter, Jane, and Dan.
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It was a treat and an honor to have been lucky enough to know George.
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I only met George a few times as I am relatively new to the academy and only recently moved to the Pioneer Valley. However it still felt like I knew him well, given how much I’ve read his work.
My lasting impression of him will be the final time we met. We were talking shop and life in general, and I was very touched by how comfortable he made me feel while speaking to him and how he listened to what I had to say so attentively. This despite him being so eminent and accomplished in the field.
RIP George, both your legacy and kindness will continue to be felt for a long time.
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I know only Cheryl who is our choir director of Center Church, South Hadley. I relay my very heartfelt condolences to both Cheryl and the family . Blessings to all in their loss. Lynne Bertram
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George had so many extraordinary gifts, which he shared freely. Two especially come to mind. He was a master of the apt metaphor, usually expressed with economy. I recall him saying that an ideal statistics course would be like a walk in the woods with your dog, following scents wherever they lead. Instead, though, most of our courses were like a greyhound race, chasing a mechanical rabbit in circles.
George also had the rare ability to engage in one-on-one conversations giving you his undivided attention. No one else was more important in that moment. His influence on my teaching and writing was profound.
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I always looked forward to seeing George at Statistics Education events and to hearing him speak. He had a brilliant way of helping others see things in a new way. He is such a leader in the field, and yet was also always so approachable. I so admired his insight and his kindness. Thank you for all you have taught us, George. We will miss you.
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It was my good fortune to work with George when he served as Dean of Studies at Mount Holyoke. He was unfailingly kind and supportive and wise. I remember that when the college was introducing a new staff evaluation system, George insisted that if supervisors were going to evaluate staff, then staff needed to evaluate supervisors as well. Whether he prevailed or not, that was an important point that stayed with me throughout my career, one of many things that I learned in the years that we worked together.
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I’m incredibly saddened by the news of George’s passing. As others have so eloquently noted, George wasn’t just one of the smartest and most insightful people we’ve ever known. He was also remarkably attuned to ways that he could gently guide and support those who were around him. He was amazingly curious and thoughtful. He was kind and playful. He spoke unpopular truths when warranted, but did so with a smile (and in his papers, a creative metaphor or apt quote). George had the vision to see good and potential that was at yet unrealized to the rest of us, and he never hesitated to share his guidance and advice. His Quaker background shone through all of his pursuits, and I was blessed to have the opportunity to work with him throughout my entire teaching career. Nicholas Horton
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Oh George. How lucky I am to have known you, to have felt your caring and compassion and interest, to have soared with you to heights of silliness and reflection and ideas. So appreciate your kindness, interest in everything, and way of listening and making speaker feel appreciated and understood. No topic too far out or personal. Trustworthy, honorable, moral, fun, dear…and cute. Love you, George.
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I was so sorry to hear of George’s passing. He and Cheryl brought joy to my childhood, and I carry their influence. I remember the feeling, in conversations with them, that taking things lightly and taking them seriously were not at odds with each other. And just today I solved a mystery that had been dogging me for decades.
At some point when I was around 11 years old, I was given a probability book. It wasn’t written for children; it consisted of a series of problems, rapidly progressing in difficulty, with delightful scenarios and illustrations. Somewhere along the way, I misplaced it; years later, I wanted to find it but could not remember its author or title. I searched offline and online, browsed through bookstores, asked people, and racked my memory, but to no avail. Then, just today, I read a wonderful interview with George (by Allan Rossman, in the Journal of Statistics Education, Volume 23, no. 1) in which he mentions using Fred Mosteller’s Fifty Challenging Problems in Probability (1965) in a probability course that he taught at Mount Holyoke. I looked up the book, and tears started rolling down. This was the very one. He must have given a copy to my family, maybe specifically to me. I ordered a Dover reprint just now and will soon be able to pore over those problems again.
Love and condolences to Cheryl, Lee Tae, and the entire family.
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