Distinguished Alumnus
Class of 2026

Dr. Robert William "Bob" Vyverberg

AHS Class of 1959

In his more than four decades of work in the mental health field, Bob Vyverberg dedicated his professional life to serving those in need, including the most vulnerable populations of children, adolescents, adults and the elderly. He believed in every patient’s right to be treated with dignity and respect as he worked to eradicate the stigma of mental illness and mental health treatment, and bring the concept of recovery to the service system.

Robert William “Bob” Vyverberg, the first son of William and Virginia Rutger Vyverberg, was born in Dubuque, IA, on December 23, 1940. His brother, Ronald, was born three years later and the family then relocated to Charles City, IA, before their 1953 move to Arcola, where Bob entered Arcola Junior High School and Bill and Virginia would become owners of Vyverberg’s Store in downtown Arcola.

At Arcola High School, Bob was an honor student who served on The Torch yearbook staff, wrote for the Arco-Lite and also participated in athletics and music. Throughout high school, he was active in football, basketball and track, with membership in the Letterman’s Club. Bob played clarinet with the Band and Dance Band and sang with the Chorus all four years, often performing as a soloist. He sang popular songs of the day for school assemblies, served as a three-year student director of the Band, was a member of the Band Cabinet and received his class Arion award in recognition of his leadership and musical achievement. As a junior, Bob was elected class treasurer and Homecoming attendant. He also sang with The Methodist Church choir and occasionally filled in for Virgil Roberts as substitute choir director.

Following his 1959 graduation, Bob received a scholarship to study at Illinois Wesleyan University, expecting to fulfill his talented mother’s dream for him to become a music therapist. After four years of music study, singing with his fraternity’s jazz band, performing with the concert and marching bands, while also working as a sports writer at the Bloomington Pantagraph, Bob graduated in 1963 with a Bachelor of Education in music, while also fulfilling a second major in psychology. His growing interest in psychology led him cross-town to Illinois State University, where he was a campus residence hall counselor and also continued his work at the Pantagraph as he completed his Master of Science in psychology in June 1964. Bob and Benita Bushu were then married in the First Christian Church of Arcola on June 6, 1964.

Bob and Benita moved to Carpentersville, IL, in the fall of 1964, where Bob served three years as the director of counseling services at Crown High School and Benita taught at West Dundee Elementary School. Bob also worked part time at Elgin Mental Health Center of the Illinois Division of Mental Health. In the fall of 1968, the Vyverbergs relocated to Rockford as Bob became the clinical director of the Children/Adolescent Program at Singer Mental Health Center. He remained at the center for sixteen years, during which time he completed his doctorate at Northern Illinois University, while also teaching part time in NIU’s Counseling Department. In their years at Rockford, Benita and Bob’s sons, Robert, Jr. and Benjamin, were born in 1968 and 1971, and toward the end of their years in Rockford, Bob and his sons tragically lost Benita to breast cancer in 1980.

In the challenging times after Benita’s passing, Bob became the center’s administrative director and director of its psychiatric rehabilitation unit. With its ground breaking program, the unit became one of seven nationally recognized programs for returning state hospital patients to their communities. Then, on November 6, 1982, Bob, Robbie and Benjie’s family grew when Bob married nurse and psychiatric caseworker Mari Ann Jacobs.

The Vyverbergs’ lives unexpectedly changed in 1984 when Governor Jim Thompson asked the family to relocate to Peoria, where Bob would coordinate the closure of Galesburg Mental Health Center and later become the faculty director of Zeller Mental Health Center in Peoria. Bob continued to serve in the Division of Mental Health for the next twenty-five years, as his time at Zeller was filled with new and innovative recovery treatments and programming. During his years at Zeller, Bob also served on the medical staff of the Psychiatry Department at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, contributing to the establishment of a psychiatric residency program. He ended his tenure at Zeller as he directed the successful closure of the center and transfer of its patients to community mental health alternative treatment services.

Bob completed his forty-five year award-winning career in mental health as the Division of Mental Health’s statewide chief of staff, retiring in 2011. He had been a tireless advocate of mental health rights and support, breaking down barriers as he developed and implemented nationally recognized programs. Bob generously credits others, especially Mari, Rob, Ben and all his family, for their support throughout his working years.

Retirement provides Bob and Mari more time for music, concerts, golf, travel and continued service in the Peoria First United Methodist Church. Family time is precious and their five grandsons are the joy of their lives. Although his years in Arcola were few, Bob acknowledges that his family, friends and extraordinary Arcola education, as well as his memories of Arcola, have served him well throughout his life.