Leland Robert Canessa

L. Robert “Bob” Canessa passed away on May 17, 2022, at the age of 82, in Seaside. He died with his entire family at his side, after an inspiring 14-year cancer battle that long defied medical statistics.

In 1957, Bob led the Metro League in batting his senior year at Astoria High School with a .400 batting average, and also played on the 1956 national championship-winning Seaside Connie Mack baseball team.

He continued playing baseball at third base on an athletic scholarship at the University of Oregon. Bob made many lifelong friends as a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at the University of Oregon, where he graduated with a business degree in 1961.

After college, Bob started working in insurance and as a stockbroker in Eugene, and got hooked on the game of golf. Because the stock market closed at 1 p.m., his game benefited tremendously.

More importantly, Bob met Barbara at the Oregon Coast Invitational Golf Tournament in 1964. They married in 1965. Bob later found success on the golf course, winning the Oregon Coast Invitational in 1970.

Then Bob and his family moved back to Astoria in 1975, where he began his career as an insurance agent at family-owned Knutsen Insurance. Bob also had the joy of working with his son, Jeff, in the family business, where they worked together until Bob retired in 2000.

In 2008, Bob was inducted into the Astoria High School Hall of Fame, where he was later joined by both his dad (Leland was inducted in 2012) and his son (Jeff was inducted in 2017).

Bob was a lifelong outdoorsman with a deep passion for hunting and fishing. In particular, Bob loved duck hunting with family and friends.

In the fall of 2021, Bob made his final annual trek to the Canadian prairie. With his sons by his side, and with the help of his friends, his last hunt was one of the best.

Bob will be dearly missed and fondly remembered by his wife of 56 years, Barbara; two sons, Jim (and his spouse, Kris) and Jeff (and his spouse, Jen); four grandchildren, Kade, Kelsie, Ila and Indy; and his brother, Bill (and his spouse, JoAnn).

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Leland (1967) and Vieno (2000).

A private service was held for close family.