Robert Oliver
Obituary
Robert F. Oliver, Sr. (Bob), 76, passed
away on Saturday (May 28, 2016) at Via Christi Hospital, St. Francis
Hospice Center in Wichita.
Bob was born on July 1, 1939, in Ottawa
to Moses and Bonnie Oliver.
He is survived by his wife, Bertha L.
Wilson, whom he married on Aug. 5, 1956, in Wichita; his children,
Robert (Jr.) and Debbie Oliver, LuAnna Oliver, JoAnna and Mark
Talbert and Brian Oliver; 11 grandchildren and great-grandchildren;
and a host of nieces and nephews, and many other relatives and
friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents
Moses and Bonnie Oliver and family members Rose (sister) and Wilbur
Wheatley, Jon Wheatley (son of Rose and Wilbur) and Irena Lytle
(mother-in-law).
He served in the U.S. Air Force and
reserves as an Airman First Class from 1957 to 1963 and received his
honorable discharge in 1963 in St. Louis, ending his six year
military career. While serving in Biloxi, Mississippi, he enjoyed
working on his and Paul's family cars to drag race. On weekends, his
wife and friends, Paul and Kay Vanderley, raced them at one of the
first drag strips in the area.
Bob worked for Boeing Aircraft Company
on radar and electronics systems toward the end of his military
career, transitioned to commercial sales, became an entrepreneur and
started up multiple retail and wholesale businesses, then went back
to product and advertising sales that enabled him and his wife to
enjoy traveling and site seeing in an RV over the last 30 years.
As a young boy, Bob enjoyed hanging out
and working at the Ice House and ice skating rink, where he learned
to ice skate. He attended Wichita East High School, where he was in
Civil Air Patrol, and met Bertha. He enjoyed his wife's good cooking,
especially her fried chicken and fried potatoes and onions, playing
cards, bingo, golfing with family and friends, pulling water skiers
on many area lakes, playing blackjack and shooting craps in many
casinos. He was also active with Shell Knob Shrine Club and fishing
tournaments on Table Rock Lake in Missouri and with Midian Shriner
Arab Patrol Club in Wichita. All these activities benefited Shriners
Hospitals for Children .
Prior to his death, he decided to
donate his body to the KU School of Medicine 'Willed Body Program' to
help educate the next generation of medical professionals.
The family held a 'Celebration of Life'
Gathering on Memorial Day (May 30, 2016) in Wichita to honor his life
as a husband, dad, grandpa, uncle and friend. The family asks in lieu
of sending flowers that memorial gifts be donated to the National
Kidney Foundation in memory of Robert F. Oliver, Sr. and his two and
a half year struggle with kidney failure. He was always friendly and
had a smile on his face through it all. The National Kidney
Foundation will send a personalized card to his wife acknowledging
your gift when you include her address as follows:
Bertha Oliver, 1308 S. Spring Lake
Road, #41, Halstead, KS, 67056
