The death of Robert E. Loup, 1929-2017, marks the end of an era in Denver Jewish history.
There was a time when, if you were from Denver attending a national Jewish conference or convention, strangers would come up to you: “Oh, so you’re one of Bob Loup’s boys.”
The assumption was that if you were interested in things Jewish, then it could only be because of the inspiration of Bob Loup. True, this was one more charming example of the absurd stereotype of Denver as small town, but the comment reflected an important truth: the reach, the reputation and the positive aura of Robert E. Loup.
No doubt, he was the most dominant leader in our general Jewish community since the long-ago era of Adolph Kiesler, who towered over this community in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. The mantle was taken up by Bob Loup. As unlikely as the poor immigrant Kiesler’s rise to Jewish leadership was, so we might say of the rise of a West Sider from a small house on Meade Street.
The list of Loup’s leadership positions, local and national, impressive though it is, does not convey the heart of the story. There are many national leaders. There was only one Bob Loup.
We refer to the inspiration so naturally assumed by those who greeted the Denverites in national Jewish settings. Loup’s influence was well known to the greeters because they, no less than the Denverites, had been moved by Loup wherever they first met him. His inspiration was palpable.
A powerful speaking style.
Short sentences.
Pungent summations.
Sincerity worn on the sleeve.
Love of the Jewish people.
Love of what he was doing.
The capacity to convey mitzvah — obligation — to join in the effort.
A sense for Jewry worldwide.
For the Jewish past and future.
For the miracle of Israel and the horror of the Holocaust.
Articulation of all this without being trite or melodramatic.
Underneath all that optimism, self-confidence and leadership was another quality: the capacity to listen. To learn. Perhaps not on the first go round, but there is no doubt that over the years Bob Loup grew in his understanding of both the communal needs of the Jewish people and their complementary obligations. Jewish education. Kashrut. Prayer. These too came to occupy the mind and soul of Bob Loup, and in this way he distinguished himself not only from many of his peers, but, far more difficult, from the community beliefs of his youth.
Much has been made of the fact that Loup, the national leader, did not forget his roots, but returned to Denver to undertake major projects, such as the reinvention of the JCC. Frankly, this never struck us as unusual. Loup’s national leadership was an extension of his deepest beliefs, his roots on the West Side, his love of a good time with his seemingly countless, genuine friends in Denver. All this could never be abandoned or transcended because this is who Bob Loup was.
He grew in his Jewish understanding; this was of a piece not only with his love of the Jewish people but with all the Denver Jews who nourished and cherished him. Loup’s growth did not, because it could not, separate him from his roots and friends and community. As we wrote on this page last November, when Loup received the JCC’s “Hineni” Award for his senior leadership at UJA, JCC, Shalom Park, Allied Jewish Apts., ISIME and other causes:
“The word ubiquitous was invented for Bob Loup. He has been everywhere in this community. If ever there were a Jewish Denverite for whom the word ‘visionary’ fits, it is Bob Loup.”
With his passing, an era has closed. The memories, however, are shimmering.
Copyright © 2017 by the Intermountain Jewish News
