Rob was the consummate theatre professional.  He passed on Tuesday evening, October 3, 2017 before opening night, and his funeral service will be Saturday, October 7, 2017 at 2 pm so as not to interfere with Saturday night's performance or the strike on Sunday afternoon.

Rob lived in many worlds, his theatre world, his scouting world, and, for the past decade, his bicycle world.  He loved them all.  Most of all, he loved his family.  He leaves behind his wife and life partner, Liz, his son, John, daughter-in-law, Evie (the daughter he never had), and granddaughter, Ruby. He was so proud of them.

A native New Yorker, Rob came to Springfield in 1991 to teach at Drury University, then Drury College, where there was a small Theatre program with a big heart.  The shows they produced were outstanding. Slowly, the Theatre department began to grow.  In 1999, Rob designed the Studio Theatre in Springfield Hall. The department continued to expand.  Not only were there more students, but also more faculty. In 2016, the department moved to the Mabee Performing Arts Center and was in need of a new black box theater.  Once again, Rob designed a theatre.  With the help of Judy Thompson in Development, Rob helped fundraise for a new black box theatre.  The theatre will be dedicated this spring with a production of The Fantasticks that Rob planned to direct and design.  Fortunately, the design is complete and the plan is to use it for the production.  Rob wrote a book on directing based on his more than forty years as a director.  His book, The Director's Toolkit , will be released in January.  It is filled with stories and pictures from his work at Drury.

Life is short, but as everyone in theatre knows, the show must go on.  He would want his family, friends, current and former students, all of whom he considered family, to go on and know how much he loved them.

Visitation will be on Friday, October 6, 2017 from 5-7 pm, and the funeral will be at 2 pm on Saturday, October 7, 2017 at the Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home, 1947 E. Seminole.  In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider making a donation to the Robin J. Schraft Memorial Fund in care of YOUCARING.COM