Robert (Bob) Eugene Withers, Sr. was born February 8, 1937 to Earl John Withers and Lucille Isaphene nee Kirkpatrick in Baxter Springs, Kansas. He joined his sister, Nancy Lee, who was six-and-a-half years older.
Bob graduated from Baxter Springs High School in 1955. He went on to a year of college at Southwestern Bible Institute in Waxahachie, Texas. Although he excelled playing basketball, being a minister was not for him. Instead, he joined the United States Air Force where his first assignment was at Elmendorf, AFB. He was married to Melva Marilyn Wolcoff on August 3, 1957 in Anchorage, Alaska
Bob and Melva were married on August 3, 1957 in Anchorage, Alaska while Bob was on his first assignment at Elmendorf, AFB. Their first child, Robert Junior, was born the following May in Melva’s hometown of Seward, Alaska.
Other assignments brought other children: Ruth Kristi in 1960 in Enid, Oklahoma and three more sons over two tours of duty to Kadena AFB, Okinawa, Eric Scott in 1962, Kyle Patrick in 1965 and Michael Sean in 1971.
Other postings included Waco, Texas; Altus AFB, Oklahoma; Edwards AFB, California; a year remote tour to Shemya, Alaska and a final assignment to Shaw AFB, South Carolina, where is retired as a Technical Sargent.
Bob’s most memorable tenure in the 1962 Communications Group was at the height of the Vietnam War. He had very mixed feelings about the coded coordinates he transmitted for bombings missions in Southeast Asia. He was able to incorporate part of this into a winning essay for the Freedom’s Foundation Medal in 1968.
He remained a life-long follower of Uechi Ryu Karate, a form that migrated from China to the Ryukyu Islands. He achieved a Third Degree Black Belt and delighted in sharing this philosophy with military colleagues wherever he was assigned. Watching him perform the Katas, or the various sequence of movements was like watching a dance.
After moving back to Kent, Washington in 1977 and buying their only home in Covington, Bob went to work for the Kent School District. He secured a second retirement as a custodian for Kent Elementary School. He and Melva divorced in 1984.
In planning a trip back to Okinawa, Bob met Amy Juarez DeJillas, a travel agent and they married November 3, 1986 in Tacoma, Washington. Bob started a third retirement working for Boeing Corporation but had to leave in 2000 for medical reasons.
Bob and Amy travelled to Maui, Hawaii and Anchorage, Alaska, and extensively in the state of Washington. Mostly, Bob enjoyed a quiet life, meeting his former brother-in-law for coffee at McDonald’s, staying glued to Fox News and video chatting with his children on his GrandPad. He remained a dedicated reader of Louis L’Amour westerns, Native American and Asian history and an armchair philosopher. His favorite poems were “High Flight” by John Gillespie McGee, Jr. and “Desiderata” by Max Ehrmann. He loved the music of Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins, Ray Price and strangely enough, Abba. John Wayne and war movies were his favorite, especially when enjoyed with vanilla ice cream with Hershey’s chocolate sauce.
A fall on July 29, 2021 which broke Bob’s hip is what led to his final decline in health. He is predeceased by his sister, Nancy just a year ago, but they were able to have one last visit. Bob is survived by his wife, Amy and her large, loving family; former wife Melva of Anchorage, Alaska; oldest son Bobby (Mary) of Lenoir City, Tennessee; daughter Ruth Spees (Brad) of Eagle River, Alaska; and sons Eric of Puyallup, Washington; Kyle (Christine) of Milton, Washington; and Michael (Marne) of Denver, Colorado; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
A viewing is at 9:30 AM with funeral service at 11:00 AM, October 8, 2021, at Fern Hill Funeral Home, 2208 Roosevelt Street, Aberdeen, Washington 08520. Burial will be immediately following at the adjacent Fern Hill Cemetery with full military honors. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Robert Withers Sr, please visit our flower store.
Bob graduated from Baxter Springs High School in 1955. He went on to a year of college at Southwestern Bible Institute in Waxahachie, Texas. Although he excelled playing basketball, being a minister was not for him. Instead, he joined the United States Air Force where his first assignment was at Elmendorf, AFB. He was married to Melva Marilyn Wolcoff on August 3, 1957 in Anchorage, Alaska
Bob and Melva were married on August 3, 1957 in Anchorage, Alaska while Bob was on his first assignment at Elmendorf, AFB. Their first child, Robert Junior, was born the following May in Melva’s hometown of Seward, Alaska.
Other assignments brought other children: Ruth Kristi in 1960 in Enid, Oklahoma and three more sons over two tours of duty to Kadena AFB, Okinawa, Eric Scott in 1962, Kyle Patrick in 1965 and Michael Sean in 1971.
Other postings included Waco, Texas; Altus AFB, Oklahoma; Edwards AFB, California; a year remote tour to Shemya, Alaska and a final assignment to Shaw AFB, South Carolina, where is retired as a Technical Sargent.
Bob’s most memorable tenure in the 1962 Communications Group was at the height of the Vietnam War. He had very mixed feelings about the coded coordinates he transmitted for bombings missions in Southeast Asia. He was able to incorporate part of this into a winning essay for the Freedom’s Foundation Medal in 1968.
He remained a life-long follower of Uechi Ryu Karate, a form that migrated from China to the Ryukyu Islands. He achieved a Third Degree Black Belt and delighted in sharing this philosophy with military colleagues wherever he was assigned. Watching him perform the Katas, or the various sequence of movements was like watching a dance.
After moving back to Kent, Washington in 1977 and buying their only home in Covington, Bob went to work for the Kent School District. He secured a second retirement as a custodian for Kent Elementary School. He and Melva divorced in 1984.
In planning a trip back to Okinawa, Bob met Amy Juarez DeJillas, a travel agent and they married November 3, 1986 in Tacoma, Washington. Bob started a third retirement working for Boeing Corporation but had to leave in 2000 for medical reasons.
Bob and Amy travelled to Maui, Hawaii and Anchorage, Alaska, and extensively in the state of Washington. Mostly, Bob enjoyed a quiet life, meeting his former brother-in-law for coffee at McDonald’s, staying glued to Fox News and video chatting with his children on his GrandPad. He remained a dedicated reader of Louis L’Amour westerns, Native American and Asian history and an armchair philosopher. His favorite poems were “High Flight” by John Gillespie McGee, Jr. and “Desiderata” by Max Ehrmann. He loved the music of Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins, Ray Price and strangely enough, Abba. John Wayne and war movies were his favorite, especially when enjoyed with vanilla ice cream with Hershey’s chocolate sauce.
A fall on July 29, 2021 which broke Bob’s hip is what led to his final decline in health. He is predeceased by his sister, Nancy just a year ago, but they were able to have one last visit. Bob is survived by his wife, Amy and her large, loving family; former wife Melva of Anchorage, Alaska; oldest son Bobby (Mary) of Lenoir City, Tennessee; daughter Ruth Spees (Brad) of Eagle River, Alaska; and sons Eric of Puyallup, Washington; Kyle (Christine) of Milton, Washington; and Michael (Marne) of Denver, Colorado; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
A viewing is at 9:30 AM with funeral service at 11:00 AM, October 8, 2021, at Fern Hill Funeral Home, 2208 Roosevelt Street, Aberdeen, Washington 08520. Burial will be immediately following at the adjacent Fern Hill Cemetery with full military honors. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Robert Withers Sr, please visit our flower store.
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