Obituary of Robert Charles MacCallum

Robert Charles MacCallum of Chapel Hill, North Carolina,  died on Saturday, September 7, 2024 at UNC Hospital after a brief illness.  He was born on October 6, 1947 in Rockford, Illinois, the second of five children to Edith and Archie MacCallum.  He attended Rockford public schools graduating from East High School in 1965. He married Susan Sarwark on June 16, 2007.

“Bud” as he was known to family and friends, then graduated from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, IL, and went on to receive his PhD in Quantitive Psychology from the University of Illinois in 1974.  He was the director of two of the most outstanding psychology programs in the world at Ohio State and then at University of North Carolina. He was at Ohio State University for 28 years before moving on to UNC until his retirement in 2012.  He received several awards over the years for his teaching and research and especially enjoyed mentoring many graduate students at both universities.

Bud was highly regarded for his sense of humor and clever use of language.  He was a talented prankster to which many of his friends can attest—to their own delight and embarrassment.

In his youth, Bud was an avid athlete spending endless hours playing basketball, softball, golf, running, and fishing with his dad and brothers.  Over the years, he loved to talk about his athletic achievements which would include two holes-in-one, a par on the Road Hole at the Old Course in Scotland as well as a birdie at the Postage Stamp hole at Royal Troon.  He also once made 99 consecutive and 129 out of 130 free throws though there were no witnesses.  He was a lifelong sports fan of the University of Illinois and Green Bay Packers with his highlight being the Cubs winning the 2016 World Series. Bud also loved traveling, photography, reading and music and especially spending time with the many dogs he raised over the years. 

Bud was very proud of his Scottish heritage and forever grateful to his paternal grandfather for immigrating to the U.S. at the age of 24 to provide better opportunities for himself and his family.

He is survived by his wife Susan Sarwark of Chapel Hill, his sister Beth MacCallum Marlewski and brother Bruce (Chris Johnson) MacCallum of Rockford,  nephew Christopher Schneider and niece Vanessa MacCallum, great nieces and nephews Jackson, Brooklyn, and Kasey, along with many dear friends.  He is predeceased by his parents, older brother Barton and younger sister Barb.

A memorial service will be announced and held at a future date. Memorial donations can be made to savinggracenc.org, an organization that rescues shelter dogs.