Robert Sutherland Lord ’52

Robert Sutherland Lord ’52 of Ross, Pennsylvania, died on July 24, 2014, of heart failure. He was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts. He began playing the piano at 5 and quickly shifted to the organ. By the time he was 12 he was the regular organist at Clifton Lutheran Church in Marblehead. He graduated from Marblehead High School and received a bachelor’s in music composition from Dartmouth, where he was a member of Gamma Delta Chi, Green Key and Glee Club and was a senior fellow. He then received a master’s and doctorate, both in music, from Yale University. Bob was an expert in French organ music of the 19th and 20th centuries and played four concerts in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and another concert in Chartres Cathedral. He joined the University of Pittsburgh in 1962 and retired as professor emeritus in 1999. Bob taught thousands of students at the University of Pittsburgh and played the organ in Heinz Chapel while more than 4,000 couples marched down the aisle. His class on the history of Western music drew about 800 students a year. He and wife Martha were married for 61 years. He played the organ in Christ Episcopal Church in Ross for 22 years and directed the choir in which his wife was a soprano. In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughters Holly, Wendy and Beth; son Ben; seven grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.