William Robert Fenton, 21
William Robert Fenton, of Coeur d'Alene, died in his sleep of unknown causes while in Spokane. He was 21 years and 10 days old.
He was born to Ross and Rebecca Fenton in Coeur d'Alene, and lived most of his life here. He attended Challenger Christian Day School, Lake City Junior Academy and Coeur d'Alene High, and graduated from Bridge Academy. He attended a year of college in audio production.
He went by the name Robert, but had plenty of affectionate nicknames like Berto or Broham. He worked as a busboy, construction grunt, golf course maintenance worker and digital print specialist.
But his true love and passion was art - as found in literature, music and photography, but most importantly, life itself. As an artist, Robert seemed to understand more deeply than most the condition of being human, and the extraordinary contradictions of beauty and pain that exist in the world.
He was a musician and composer who could make someone's day better by simply playing them a song with his guitar and djembe drum. He was a traveler and photographer with a unique eye for light, shadow and shapes. Robert would resist any label you'd try to apply - but he was certainly a hipster in his sense of style, a bit of a beatnik in his plans, and a downright convincing character. In fact, his family always joked that Robert should go into negotiating as a career, because he was very good at making you see things his way. He could also tell a funny story on himself whenever the mood struck.
Robert had eclectic musical tastes. One of the things he leaves behind is his collection of rare vinyl records and a vintage analog sound system - nothing digital would do. He also insisted on riding a 25-year-old Bianchi bicycle, and taking photos on film. One of his many current projects was learning a complicated German camera from the 1950s. He was also looking forward to moving to Portland.
Robert was preceded in death by his dad, Ross, when Robert was 8. Robert leaves behind a myriad of memories for his survivors, including his sisters, Ashley Fenton and Amber Fenton; beloved niece Aspen Elizabeth; mom and dad Rebecca and David Kilmer; and a huge number of close family and friends. The cat named Monkey who slept on his bed also misses him.
Some of Robert's many experiences came from living on an island in the Caribbean with his family as a kid. There, he cared for the local island dogs, kept a pair of turtles and played on the beach every day. He especially loved bodysurfing the waves - a sensation he also enjoyed on his snowboard.
Catch a big one, Berto!
His family will celebrate Robert from 3-9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011, at Tubbs Hill/McEuen Park. All are welcome to stop by anytime and send him off with lots of love.