Robert Thimmesh

Project Logos is funded by an endowment from Robert Thimmesh.

Robert (Bob) Thimmesh was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minn.  He graduated from Saint John's Preparatory School in 1955 and attended Saint John's University from 1955-1957.  Bob then transferred to the University of Minnesota where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in business in 1960.  He also received a Master of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Minnesota.

Bob's early career included the army, working for Prudential Insurance and working as a realtor.  In 1965, he became a real estate appraiser.  Bob also worked for the State of Minnesota for 15 years (1967-1982), first in the Department of Revenue and then in the Department of Agriculture.  After leaving the public sector in 1982, Bob started his own real estate business, specializing in apartment management and investments.

For years, Bob wanted to write, but he rarely found the time to do so.  And then in 1992, he redefined his work to include writing in addition to his real estate and investment work and has been actively writing poetry and prose ever since.  Bob has had several poems published in poetry journals, including Touchstone, Lake Regional Review, Cadence, Phoenix, ArtWord Quarterly, The Wolf Head Quarterly, Aurora, American Poetry Monthly, Minnesota Poetry Calendar, Sidewalks, River Images Magazine and others. He has also completed three manuscripts — Of Meditations Beyond Lent, Maternal Elegies and Fragment of Knowing.  He is currently writing a manuscript on epistomology titled The Lens of Reality.  He is also putting the finishing touches on a drama — Rational Cement and a collection of poems — The Wisdom Chronicles.

In choosing to endow Project Logos, Bob remarked that "Saint John's is the appropriate host for a  Center in Creative Writing for a variety of reasons.  First, it is a place of permanence — Benedictines have been around for 1,500 years.  Also, Saint John's has a deep spiritual tradition and moral dimension.  Finally, the Benedictines emphasize worship and work — values that continue to be important in modern society."

Bob and his wife Doris live in Golden Valley, Minn.  Bob's cousin, Hilary Thimmesh, OSB, is an English professor at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University and was the President of the University form 1981 to 1991.