Robert O. deVette was born November 21, 1919 in Portland, Michigan. Bob graduated from Wheaton College in 1941. He then served in the Army Air Corps from 1942 until 1945. He received an MA from Wheaton Grad School in 1949, another MA from Universidad Interamerican Mexico in 1951 and a Ph.D. from Florida State in 1953. He taught in the Spanish Department of Wheaton College from 1947 until 1982 and was chairman of the Foreign Language Department from 1969 until 1972. He also served as president of the Illinois Foreign Language Teachers Association. While teaching at Wheaton, Bob met and married Helen Siml, a teacher for many years in Wheaton's English Department. Helen died in June 2012 after 52 years of marriage. He died on July 20, 2013 at age 93.