Robert Charles Ladner, who was quick to introduce himself as “Bob,” passed away at the age of 82 at Frederick Health Hospital on June 12, 2026.
Bob was born April 4, 1944 – “four, four, forty-four” – in Houston, Texas, a son of the late Charles Ladner and Christine Ladner (née Hall).
“I was born in Houston, Texas and obtained a BA in Chemistry from Rice University. I then went to Caltech, where I received a PhD in theoretical chemistry. I spent a year in Paris at the Center de Calcul Atomique et Moleculaire. I stayed in Europe 6 more years, married Jane, became a father, and switched from chemistry to molecular biology: how do living things do what they do?”
“Jane Crawford and I had known each other for four years through graduate school. [After we both ended up in Europe for post-doc positions,] we found that both of us had changed, and there was something we had not seen before. I went to England in May and proposed, she accepted, we married at Cambridge Shire Hall in June 1972. We had our first honeymoon in Scotland and a second one in Greece. Margaret was born in 1974.”
A discussion is a verbal exchange in which all (or at least most) parties agree that they don’t know everything.
“In 1976, we moved to Heidelberg, Germany, and Sarah Johanna was born in 1978. I got recruited by a group at Harvard because they needed someone with molecular graphics experience. We came back to the US on my 35th birthday with two daughters and a dog. Andrew was born in 1983.”
“Then I took a job in Gaithersburg with Genex, one of the early biotech companies. After 4 years there, I had a couple of ideas for new ways to discover new protein drugs. I started Protein Engineering Corp. in Cambridge, MA, with a friend, and for 27 years, I commuted to the Boston area. After 5 years, PEC ran out of money and the technology we had invented and patented became the nucleus of Dyax Corp. Dyax developed this into new drugs that were approved by the FDA. I retired from Dyax in 2013.”
After retiring, Bob taught English as a second language through the Frederick Literacy Council and the US citizenship process at the Asian American Center of Frederick. He was a mentor for middle schoolers and provided transportation through Partners in Care. He supported Envision Frederick County, Mobilize Frederick, Sierra Club, I Believe in Me, Inc., Oltorotua, a village in Kenya, and many others. He studied Spanish, read widely, and was active in the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick.
In the past several years, Bob reflected much on his life, our world, and the duties we have to our fellow beings on this planet.
A couple of his recent reflections:
“Listening is harder than talking. Being quiet while someone else is talking is hard for some of us. Understanding what they say and how it may fit their lives better than what we may say takes humility.”
“A discussion is a verbal exchange in which all (or at least most) parties agree that they don’t know everything and that by talking about a subject each person might learn something… we can get closer to an understanding of how parts of the world work.”
Bob is survived by his wife of almost 54 years, Jane; his daughters Margaret Ladner and Sarah Ladner Gomez; his son Andrew Ladner; his grandsons Charlie and Calvin Gomez, Kian and Corin Ladner-Huq; his sisters Barbara Ladner and Judy Roberts; and his sons-in-law Aziz Huq and Dan Gomez and daughter-in-law Nikki Vassallo. He is also remembered fondly by many extended family members and friends.
In lieu of flowers, please make this world a little kinder and more just by donating to an organization of your choice.