We sadly mourn the loss of Robert “Bob” Vandervoort (1973-2026), a long-time Chronicles reader, patriot, and conservative political activist, who died Jan. 9, 2026, from a prolonged battle with colon cancer.

Bob, as he was known to family and friends, was a voracious reader of books, journals, and magazines. He had a wide range of scholarly pursuits and literary interests, from politics, history, and religion to science fiction and horror. Samuel Francis, Frank Herbert, J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, and P. G. Wodehouse were just some of Bob’s favorite authors. From an early age, he was an avid collector of comic books.

Anyone who had the good fortune to spend time with Bob appreciated the range and depth of his erudition. For hours at soirees, from literature to movie trivia, he could hold forth with friends and colleagues on virtually any subject. He looked forward to attending and reuniting with old friends at the annual H. L. Mencken Club conference held just outside Baltimore.

Bob played the piano and enjoyed listening to a broad range of music, including classical, orchestral, and choral works, as well as contemporary pop rock. He was especially fond of the works of J. S. Bach and the Beach Boys. 

As a fan of both Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, he fervently followed his hometown teams, the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Blackhawks. He also enjoyed watching the Washington Capitals, particularly Alex Ovechkin’s more recent historic achievement of surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals.

A native of Chicago, his family eventually settled in Wilmette, Illinois, a village north of Chicago near Evanston. Bob attended New Trier High School, graduated from Boston University in 1995, where he studied history and international relations, and earned a law degree from DePaul University College of Law in 2005.

He worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative correspondent for Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) and for Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) during his time as a Maryland officeholder. He also served as a legislative aide to Maryland Republican state senator Michael Hough. In 2018, Bob briefly assisted Maryland Republican nominee Kathy Afzali’s campaign for Frederick County Executive.

Bob is perhaps best known for his tenure as executive director of ProEnglish, a position that he held from 2011 to 2016. He led successful efforts for states and localities to adopt ordinances making English the official language, including Frederick County, Maryland, in 2012 (the county has since repealed it). Also in 2012, under Bob’s stewardship, ProEnglish hosted a panel discussion on the “failure of multiculturalism” at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Bob’s experience as a lawyer and political operative, along with his dedication to promoting the organization’s core issues, elevated ProEnglish’s public profile.

Bob’s graciousness, camaraderie, and outgoing personal demeanor will forever remain in the hearts of family and friends. Rest in Peace.