Robert S. “Rob” Dinsmoor, age 65, passed away peacefully on February 23, 2024 at Beverly Hospital (Massachusetts) with his family by his side. He is survived by his brother Dan (Jeanne Briskin), sister Mara, niece Lily and nephews Ari, Gabriel and Joseph Dinsmoor, along with multiple aunts, uncles and cousins, and his ex-wife Darilyn (Gould) Dinsmoor, with whom he remained friends. He is predeceased by his father, James A. Dinsmoor and mother, Kay S. Dinsmoor.
He was born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana where he graduated from Bloomington HS South in 1976 and got his A.B. from Dartmouth College in 1980, where he was the Editor of the college humor publication, the Jack-O-Lantern. After graduation, he moved to New York City where he worked for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and continued his humor writing for the Chucklehead comedy troupe, as well as scripts for MTV and Nickelodeon.
In 1991 he moved to South Hamilton, MA where he found his community of friends. He began working as a free-lance medical writer, publishing articles in Diabetes Self Management and the Harvard Health Letter, among others. He was a member of several writing groups and continued his comedy writing, publishing several books, most recently You Can Leave Anytime and You’ll Never See It Coming.
He was an avid hiker and bicycle rider, and a fixture around the neighborhood, walking his dog, Jack. He will be remembered as a kind and generous soul, even to the extent he donated his organs and tissues after his death. He will also be remembered for his “wicked” sense of humor (in both the Massachusetts sense and the normal sense of the word).
A memorial service is planned in the spring in New Hampshire. Donations in Rob’s memory may be made to the Massachusetts Audubon Society or to the Pine Street Inn, a local homeless shelter he supported.