Robert Kemmer Anderson, 77, of Chattanooga, passed away on Friday, March 3, 2023.

A beloved, legendary English teacher at the McCallie School for 42 years, Kemmer, nicknamed "Yogi" by his students, taught all levels of high school English as well as electives in poetry and Greek literature from 1977 until 2019.  In addition to his teaching duties, he worked in the dorms, coached soccer goalies, advised The Argonaut literary magazine, and started McCallie's Amnesty International chapter.  Students remember him for his unique, musical grading system, his passion for incorporating live performance into his teaching of drama, and his ability to assume Biblical and classical characters to deliver poignant chapel talks.

Kemmer was born on September 2, 1945 in New York City.  He lived a cultural childhood of art and museums in Manhattan, until his family moved to Westfield, New Jersey, where he attended The Wardlaw School, graduating in 1963.  After earning a Bachelor of Arts in English at Davidson College as a member of ROTC, he served in Korea as a 1 st Lieutenant in the United States Army from 1968 to 1970.

After the Army, he attended Union Seminary in Richmond, then worked in North Carolina as a brickmaker and stable hand.  After writing poetry and working on a teaching certificate, he moved to Tennessee to direct the horseback riding program at Camp Mountain Lake. He taught one year at Grundy High School before being hired at McCallie.

While at McCallie, Kemmer continued his lifelong learning and poetry writing, earning an M.A. in English from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1985 (emphasis in John Milton) and an M.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John's College in Annapolis in 1991.  He published poems in a multitude of literary journals including The Sewanee Review , Sojourner , St. John's Review , and Christian Century .  In addition to numerous chapbooks and a yearly Christmas poem for friends and family, he published Milton at Monticello: Thomas Jefferson's Reading of John Milton, a collection of scholarly essays connecting his appreciations of Milton and Thomas Jefferson.  He received NEH grants to study John Milton at Stanford, Galileo in Florence, and Thucydides in Minnesota.  Especially in his later years, he enjoyed participating in poetry readings around Chattanooga.  He was also an active champion of human rights, using both his pen and his presence to support causes important to him.

Kemmer is survived by his wife of 42 years, Martha Johnson Anderson.  Together, they enjoyed traveling to Greece, England, Ireland, Israel, Palestine, and Western Europe, and gardening on Wing Shadow Farm for 21 years, his favorite place to write poetry.

He is also survived by cousins Jane Meenach (Dale) and Laura Castrucci (Steve), sister-in-laws Amy Hopper (Barry) and Becky Green (Nelson, deceased), brother-in-law Bill Johnson, seven nieces and nephews, and twelve great-nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by parents Leslie Gordon and Rose Kemmer Anderson.

A funeral service will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Saturday, March 25 at 11:00 am.  A visitation will precede the service at 10 am and a reception will follow the service.  The family will have a private funeral at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Metropolitan Ministries or Children's Nutrition Program.

Vaughn Funeral Home of Spring City is in charge of the arrangements of Robert Kemmer Anderson and asks that friends share condolences and memories of him with the family on our website www.vaughn-funeral-home.com .