According to his obituary, Robert “liked his profession as a bus driver with First Student Transportation in Ridgefield.” “He frequently brought his son to work with him because he liked all the kids and they loved him back. His life’s purpose was to bring a smile on everyone’s face, and he excelled at doing so. His son was the love of his life, and raising him meant everything to him.”
‘A perfect father’
Esposito said Doerr, a U.S. Army veteran, would do anything for his son, who has the same name as Doerr’s late brother. She said father and son loved being outside —  hiking, playing soccer, and biking together. “He taught him how to swim,” she said, adding, “He was a perfect father.”
Bus driver Jessica Nunez, a native of Bethel, claimed that she and Doerr were close friends outside of the workplace and that they frequently went out and played games together. Added Nunez, Doerr was “so amusing He would joke around all day. He would hilariously impersonate anybody and everyone. When you knew he was there, you could count on a full day of laughter.”
“We frequently traveled to my home. Our whole family would play. Our group camped in Rhode Island “She spoke. “He would go swimming, tubing, and jet skiing with the kids. He would always be engaged in some activity.” Danbury resident Jenna Burdock, another bus driver, said Doerr was the “most outgoing, funny human being. He really made anybody laugh on the darkest of days.”
Kids were in ‘good hands’ with Mr. Rob
According to Doerr’s aunt Joy Angelica of New Milford, the First Student bus company will retire bus No. 36 and give the number to his mother as a mark of respect. Doerr’s parents claimed that their kids adored him and that they felt comfortable when he was driving.
Steven Gmelin, a resident of Ridgefield, whose four children had Doerr as their bus driver for the previous 3 1/2 years, remarked, “The kids really loved ‘Mr. Rob’.” “His Route 36 Scotland ES bus route was well-known. Not an easy path, but he always managed it and made sure that our children were protected.”
At the bus stop, he always positioned the bus so that traffic was fully blocked, Gmelin said. “It was a small thing, but it gives parents of elementary school kids the sense of confidence that he’s looking out for them,” he said. “He’d wave as he stepped on the accelerator and drive off. … It gave me comfort that the man that was driving my entire world, was on top of it. I’m crushed that a good man, a father of a young boy … left us too soon.”
Robert Martin of Ridgefield remembers the occasions when Leon would travel with his father on the bus. Martin’s girls shared the bus with Doerr.
Any time Leon, his kid, hopped on the bus, it was a special ride, according to Martin. “As a parent, I was confident that Mr. Rob would take good care of my girls. He treated our daughters as though they were his own. We’ll certainly miss watching him drive away from our house with his signature double honk while wearing his recognizable backward cap and a smile on his face.”
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