"Orbs" would be pained by the fuss

"Orbs" would have been embarrassed by all the fuss, this little man whose story reverberated around the nation.

Robert Tiedemann, nicknamed Orbs, a lifetime ambulance driver, died June 2 in Seattle at the age of 64 to little notice, save a one-paragraph obituary written by his friend John Thompson. That notice prompted stories in the local press.

Come July 6, people will arrive from as far away as Canada to honor him and lay him to rest with a proper burial. Just weeks ago he was destined to be placed in a pauper's grave because he died with no family to claim his remains.

"For Bob himself, he might find this humorous," said Thompson, who worked with Tiedemann at Shephard Ambulance where he was employed for 30 years. "But he'd probably be terribly embarrassed by the whole thing."

Word of Tiedemann's death circulated among members of the Professional Car Society, many former ambulance drivers, who arranged for Tiedemann's body to be moved to the Columbia Funeral Home on Rainier Avenue South in Seattle.

He'll be buried at Hillcrest Cemetery in Kent July 6, the services paid for by American Medical Response, which took over Shephard Ambulance. The service, which is expected to cost about $4,000, will follow a parade of ambulances from the funeral home to the cemetery, one carrying Tiedemann.

The car organization is raising money for a headstone that depicts an ambulance — Tiedemann's life.

He died of congestive heart failure; he earned his nickname when he lit a stove at the ambulance house and, a co-worker said, almost blew it into orbit.

While he never married and had no family, he leaves a legacy with many who never even knew him.

"This struck a chord with our members," said Dave Lisiecki of Tacoma, a member of the Professional Car Society. "We all have known somebody like Orbs, someone who didn't know how they affected people. This just snowballed."

Robert Shepard, a former ambulance driver who lives in California, is one of the organizers of the funeral.

"Most of us who worked ambulance service back in the good old days knew a guy like Robert. In my mind, Robert was a quiet hero — a man who was a steady employee and an asset to his ambulance service and the community he rendered service in," said Shepard, who plans to be at the service. "He certainly deserves a dignified funeral and to be honored and recognized for his service."

David Benson, who also worked with Tiedemann at the ambulance company, said he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of affection for a man many never knew.

"He's not unlike the unknown soldier," Benson said. "There's hundreds of Orbs, thousands of Orbs. They do their jobs and die ignominiously. He's sort of an unknown guy who turned out in death to have genuine notoriety."

Lisiecki said his car-club members are honoring Orbs for more than the years he put in at the ambulance company.

"Maybe we're all doing it for ourselves, to make ourselves feel better," he said. "This is making us all feel good."

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054