Bob Wachsler of Chilmark died May 25 in Portland, Ore., from complications due to Parkinson’s, surrounded by his family and his beloved dog Gracie. He was 79.

Bob loved the Vineyard and sailing his boat, the Janie-Bird, in races on Menemsha Pond. A two-time winner of the notorious Marjorie Dangerfield trophy, Bob was a dangerous sailor who put his friends and family at risk many times as he raced on the pond. He truly felt the Vineyard was a state of mind.

He was a brilliant, successful, clever, funny, athletic man who was the son of immigrants. He grew up modestly in the Bronx and went on to be a successful and highly respected consultant to many CEOs of the world’s largest corporations.

Bob served on many boards, among them Goodspeed Opera House, Westport Public Library, Jewish Home for the Elderly and Medici Archive Project. He was a lifetime learner and mentor to all. He served as an adjunct professor at the New York University Stern School of Business and Columbia Business School. He was asked to be John Glenn’s personal aviation psychologist, which he earned his doctorate in.

He earned a Masters’ in statistics and a PhD at Ohio State University. He was a skier, watercolor painter and excellent tennis player. A lover of Mel Brooks comedies, Gershwin/Porter, Fred Astaire, York Peppermint Patties and anything chocolate, Bob was a true renaissance man who will be greatly missed.

He is survived by his wife, Jane; his daughters, Anne (Paul) Niedergang of Portland, Ore., Elizabeth Wachsler, of Black Rock, Conn., and Susan Wachsler of New York city; and his grandchildren, Max and Zadie.

A memorial service will be announced at a later date. Donations in his memory can be made to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, the Westport Public Library or Sail Martha’s Vineyard.