MONTGOMERY — One by one, the pieces were gently displaced from shelves or tables on their way to the ultimate completion of their artistic mission.

Those performing the task did so with as much care as was employed by the original creator.

For these folks on this day, the pottery pieces had a special significance.

Last Friday, 25 individuals converged at Conley Hall on the WVU Tech campus to complete the pottery begun by longtime WVU Tech art/ceramics teacher Bob Simile, 54, who passed away on May 18 of this year following a lengthy battle with a rare form of cancer known as Lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG).

“We had a great turnout and great success in the goal of getting Bob’s work finished,” said Simile’s widow, Dyann. “Since he had been sick, he continued to make work as demonstration in his classes, but focused more on glazing and firing his students’ work than his own.

“That was so typical of Bob, putting others first, especially students. The man was a born teacher and touched so many students’ lives.”

According to Dyann, the pots which were glazed Friday will be allowed to dry for a few days. Then, Randy Yoho, who filled in to teach the ceramics class as Simile’s health worsened this past semester, and Ashley Hudson, one of Simile’s advanced students who graduated in May, will fire them so they can be included in a silent auction set for July 14 in Pittsburgh. The auction will be held during a memorial gathering for friends and family who could not attend Simile’s funeral services in West Virginia.

Much of Simile’s previously completed work will also be auctioned, and a local auction will be announced later this summer.

The proceeds will help fund the Bob Simile Memorial Scholarship, which was established to assure that his love of teaching and the arts will continue to be shared with future students. Dyann says that, since no art degrees are offered at Tech, the scholarship will be awarded to students planning to major in art at Slippery Rock University, his alma mater.

Yoho and Hudson met earlier last week to mix up the glazes used Friday. The men used ‘recipes’ utilized by Simile over the years.

“So even though the people there glazing were using their own styles (some of us learned how to glaze minutes before starting, so ‘style’ is probably not the right word), the colors of the finished pots should be similar to Bob’s own glazing,” Dyann said.

For Hudson, it was the least he could do for a man who taught him a lot.

“It’s hard (dealing with Simile’s passing), but it’s been building up and everybody saw it coming,” he said. He called Simile an “awesome” teacher, one who guided him through three years of ceramics, painting and art appreciation studies.

“We spent a lot of time together (in class and during work with the kiln),” he added. “He was real creative; he had a different way to look at stuff.

“And he was a real cut-up. He was fun to be around.”

Bob’s three sons, Andrew, Hayden and Jackson, assisted in Friday’s endeavor. Also participating were former students from as recent as last semester to over 15 years ago, professional potters and artists. According to Dyann, potters who have their own studios transported some of the pots to their studios to fire in salt and raku kilns, processes Bob had used on many of his past pieces.

She will take a few other pots to present to his college professor from Slippery Rock, Dick Wukich, who recently retired. He will glaze and fire those pieces. Wukich attended Simile’s service last month, reading a letter from the Slippery Rock president and relating some of his favorite Simile stories.

An accomplished artist himself, Simile — a Pratt resident who was a native of Pittsburgh — was involved in many juried shows in the state during his career. He was president of the West Virginia Art and Craft Guild from 2003-09, in addition to serving as a juror for the Mountain State Arts and Craft Festival in Ripley for several years.

He was also active in numerous other endeavors, including coaching wrestling at DuPont High and WVU Tech, and serving as a Pratt town councilman.

According to his wife, ceramics, painting and art appreciation were offered mainly as electives when he began teaching at Tech in 1986, but a later move to offer an interdisciplinary studies major created the opportunity to place a heavier emphasis on the art curriculum.

“Many of Bob’s former students continue to work as designers or artists,” Dyann said. “Some have wheels and kilns of their own and continue to make pots.

“Dave Thomas, who was a student of Bob’s in the early 1990s, was recently awarded a grant to paint one of the interstate pillar murals in Charleston this summer during FestivAll. Bob would be so proud.”

“He always maintained hope and a positive attitude,” Simile says of her husband during his health struggles, which spanned almost four years. “We all thought he would beat it.

“Our extended families, neighbors in Pratt and Bob’s colleagues at Tech, Bridgemont and friends everywhere have helped us through the loss of someone who can never be replaced, but will always be remembered. He truly was one of a kind.”

Simile offered a special thanks to Carolyn Long, Tech’s campus executive officer, who attended Bob’s service and also allowed her to organize Friday’s event.

Donations for the scholarship in his honor can be sent to: The Bob Simile Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o United Bank, Fourth Ave. & Lee St., Montgomery, WV 25136.