Goodbye to Robert Noah Calvert

Massage historian and cofounder of Massage Magazine, Robert Noah Calvert died April 19 at age 60 after suffering a heart attack. Calvert and his wife Judi founded Massage Magazine in 1985; he sold the publication to the Doyle Group in 2005.

With more than twenty-five years of experience as a massage therapist, publisher, researcher, and educator, Calvert’s work appeared in numerous publications, including Body Mind Spirit Magazine, the Journal of Higher Education, and Massage & Bodywork. He authored The History of Massage (Healing Arts Press, 2002) and was working on three books: Evolution of Human Touch, Indigenous Massage, and The History of Bodywork. He and Judi founded the World of Massage Museum in Spokane, Washington, in 2000.

In early April, Calvert was working on a history project for Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals and shared his thoughts on the profession. “Massage confers its benefits through the character and healing intention of those who give and receive it,” he wrote. “The real purpose of giving massage is to foster more depth of feeling for one another in order to bring out the love that often lies buried beneath the pain of everyday suffering.”
Formerly of Washington State, Calvert had recently been living in Oahu, Hawaii. He enjoyed traveling the world, scuba diving, and riding motorcycles and bicycles. A former competitive cyclist, he biked fifty miles the day prior to his heart attack.