Bob Wykle was an extraordinary man.

Dr. Robert Lee Wykle, lovingly referred to as “Bob,” of Tobaccoville, NC, and Franklin, NC, transitioned from his earthly body to join the space-time continuum on February 21st, 2026. He passed away at Woltz Hospice Home in Dobson, NC, slipping away peacefully in his sleep and surrounded by people he loved, after having developed metastatic cancer.

Born on March 17th, 1940, in Macon County, NC, to parents Martin and Alice Wykle, Bob was a true “Renaissance Man” and Naturalist. He received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Western Carolina University in 1963, followed by 2 years teaching high school Physics in Waynesville. He then continued his studies at the University of Tennessee at Memphis (with research conducted at Oak Ridge Associated Universities) where in 1970 he received his PhD in Biochemistry. Bob continued his research career at ORAU, then took a faculty position at Wake Forest University Bowman Gray School of Medicine in 1980 to pursue his pioneering research on lipids, where he famously developed the “Wykle Cycle” – a cycle that explained how Platelet Activating Factor is made and degraded. He retired as a Professor Emeritus in 2007 to focus on his many passions.

Bob had a profound respect for nature and spent his life as a beekeeper, sharing his honey and beeswax candles with everyone he knew, and never wearing a veil as the bees knew not to sting such a gentle man. He chose to surround himself with the most beautiful things in life, taking every chance he got to go on walks to admire the beauty of the world. He soaked up everything the earth and Universe had to offer. He had a great love for white water canoeing. He was a walking encyclopedia of the Southern Appalachian mountains, memorizing all the mushrooms, flowers, and trees of the Appalachian forest, and admiring them for their beauty and their biochemistry.

Bob enjoyed gardening for himself and others. Every year he shared the bounty of his enormous garden full of fresh produce and as many flowers as he could fit. He also developed and tended one of the most genetically diverse apple orchards in the Eastern United States; when he was younger, many called him ‘Bobby Apple Seed.’ Bob knew almost every constellation in the night sky. He enjoyed deeply pondering Mathematics, quantum mechanics, civil rights, and the questions of the universe. Bob also enjoyed woodworking, reading, listening to classical music and recordings of his dad’s many tales, tinkering, and most of all, telling his famous stories and limericks.

Bob is survived by the countless people whose lives he touched. He was a gifted, gentle teacher and mentor. Everyone who was lucky enough to have known or worked with Bob recounts that he changed their lives for the better. He inspired his friends and family to be better people, deeper thinkers, and loving stewards of nature. He never failed to make people laugh, and he never took life too seriously. His spirit lives on through his daughter, Deena Wykle, the apple of his eye, his beloved partner Janet Doellgast, as well as Jeff Schmitt and Wayne Conley III, who he considered and treated like sons. Bob is also survived by countless nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends that had the pleasure of knowing him, as well former wives Damaris Olson and Leslie Poole. He was preceded in death by his parents, Martin and Alice Wykle, and his siblings, William (Billy) Wykle and Juanita Jenkins Smith.

There will be a visitation on Saturday, February 28th, at 10 AM at Macon Funeral Home in Franklin, NC, followed by a service at 11 AM, and interment afterward at Liberty Church, where he will be laid to rest next to his parents. There will be a Celebration of Life in Winston-Salem, NC, at a later date, to be announced.

Flowers and condolences can be sent to Macon Funeral Home.

Macon Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.