Though he officially worked in the art department at the Village Commons Bookstore, Uncle Bob held various positions in the store.

“He called himself the store historian, and he was the fix-it guy,” said Lee Blankenship, owner of the bookstore at 901 Lucinda Ave.

Robert Freagon, 63, better known as Uncle Bob, died Wednesday morning. He has been helping art students buy supplies for class since 1978.

Frank Donlevy, Freagon’s best friend and fellow employee, said he began to work at the store after the college he worked at in Tennessee closed.

He moved to DeKalb after his wife got a job at NIU.

“He was in the Army, and when he got out, he needed something to do,” Donlevy said. “That’s when he got interested in pottery.”

He received several degrees in art and taught at Peabody College in Nashville, Tenn., before coming to DeKalb. Freagon wanted to teach art.

When Blankenship first bought the store in 1997, Freagon showed him every nook and cranny in the facility.

“I didn’t even know where a light switch was,” he said.

Freagon also was known for having all the tools and helped make the textbook section in the bookstore.

“We called him Fox Fire Five,” said Mervin Papa, a senior fine arts major who worked at the bookstore for three and a half years. “He knew how to fix everything.”

Papa was in America without his parents and said Freagon helped him out a lot.

“He was a father figure to me,” he said. “He was the greatest teacher.”

Bob Farrah, who worked with Freagon for 23 years, said every Friday when the weather was good, he would have a bonfire at his place. He also was known for his New Years and Super Bowl parties.

“We would talk about topics in the world, and he would feed us,” he said.

Farrah said two subjects he was passionate about were sports and art.

“He was a Packers fan,” he said. “He was a cheesehead and proud of it.”

Art employees at VCB made a book so those who knew him could write something about him. Anyone who worked with him or knew him is welcome to sign it.

Employees at VCB said his death was unexpected. The reason for his death was not determined yet.

Visitation and funeral arrangements have not been announced yet.