Robert Leonard Campi, born May 9, 1957, eldest son of the late Dr. Leonard and Mrs. Maryanna Campi, died April 12, 2023.
Robert graduated from Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft in 1975 and then went on to the University of Jacksonville where he received a degree in finance. There he met his first wife Celi Williams and her young daughter Michelle who would go on to become an Olympic gymnast. They lived in Fort Lauderdale for several years where Robert had a successful career as a stockbroker.
When they divorced, Bob moved back to New Jersey to reside with and watch over his aging parents. Upon his father’s death, he and his mother moved to her condominium in Fort Lauderdale where he devoted much of his time to caring for his aging mother and driving her to her weekly casino outings until she passed in 2017.
A couple of years later he was diagnosed with kidney cancer which he battled and conquered – after the removal of the perfidious kidney.
He spent the majority of his adult life day-trading and was an avid investor during good times and bad. He had a fondness for animals; cats in particular, always seemed to take to him, perhaps because, like them, Bob valued independence, self-reliance and living life on his terms. He was a reader of the classics and would frequently quote lines from Seneca, “Moby Dick” and “Atlas Shrugged.” He spent the last two years of his life in the Florida Keys doing what he loved most – watching the sun rise, fishing, working out and enjoying good food and drink with friends, especially Andy Grossman and Lisa and Rich Caplan, lifelong friends who shared his love of the Keys life.
Bob is survived by his older sister Carol Campi in Miami, Florida; her two children, Rebecca and Ross, who continue to espouse his conservative and pragmatic views; and his younger brother Greg Campi, D.M.D., of Shrewsbury and his wife Diane Manfredi, Ed.D.
A memorial service will be held at noon Aug. 19 at the Presbyterian Church at Shrewsbury. Bob would appreciate that, in lieu of flowers, any donations be made to the local ASPCA.
The article originally appeared in the August 3 – 10, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
