Robert Holland McFadden, 71, of Alexandria, Virginia, died of cancer on May 8, 2009.

Born on December 18, 1937, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, he was the son of the late Charles W. McFadden, Jr., of Pylesville, Maryland, and Miriam Bailey Holland, of the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Bob attended schools in Brandon (VT) and DeWitt (NY) before attending Fayetteville Manlius HS (NY) and graduating from Johnstown HS (NY). In 1959, he graduated from Park College (MO) where he studied political science under Professor Jerzy Hauptmann. In 1966, he obtained a Masters degree in political science from Duke University (NC) under Professors John Hallowell and William H. Poteat. At Duke, he also benefited from the counsel of William Blackburn, mentor of numerous writers, such as William Styron.

In 1959, he married Annettli Apollonia Baumann of Basel, Switzerland, and Claremont, CA. She was the granddaughter of Isidoro Pellegrini, Basel architect and preservationist, and the grand niece of Alfred Heinrich Pellegrini, the Swiss painter. The marriage ended in divorce in 1998.

Also in 1959, Bob came to Washington, DC to attend George Washington University, and held part time jobs in the Passport Office and the office of Representative Charles. E. Chamberlain, Rep. of East Lansing, Michigan where he later served as an administrative assistant.

During the 1970-80s, he resided in Northwest Washington, DC where he served as president of the Burlieth Citizens Association during negotiations between Clint Murchison, Jr., then owner of the Dallas Cowboys, and John Archbold, the Standard Oil heir, regarding the development of the adjacent Hillandale property, the first Planned Unit Development in Washington.

In 1999, after being employed for 25 years by the Alliance of American Automobile Manufacturers and its predecessor organizations, he founded GHG Associates, an international environmental consultancy, specializing in climate change and covering more than 35 international meetings of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Survivors include his son, Justin I. McFadden and his wife Sondra, of Dunn Loring, VA; his daughter, Maia H. McFadden; former wife Annettli A. Baumann; and his brother, Charles F. McFadden, retired Cmdr. USCG, of Satellite Beach, FL.

Funeral arrangements have been made through Harkins Funeral Home of Delta, PA.

Graveside services and interment will be held at the Fawn Grove Cemetery, Fawn Grove, PA, on Saturday, May 16th, at 11:30 am.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Duke Ellington School of the Arts (www.ellingtonschool.org), as Bob was an admirer of that artist and Jazz music, and often enjoyed performances at the school.