Obituary: KELLEHER, ROBERT

Robert F. Kelleher1927-2012Salt Lake City, UTRobert Francis Kelleher, a man of affable warmth and a great and gentle spirit, died of complications from Parkinson's disease on Sunday, July 22 in Salt Lake City. He was 84.A man of quiet integrity, Bob was born in Wilmington, Del., and attended Wilmington High School, where he was on the swimming and diving teams. After serving in the U.S. Navy at the end of World War II, Bob returned home to enroll in the University of Delaware, where he earned a bachelor's degree in psychology, joined the Kappa Alpha fraternity and lettered in lacrosse and swimming. A natural athlete, Bob took an early job as a lifeguard, and would faithfully swim at sports clubs and go jogging decades before those activities became popular. After graduation, Bob embarked on a 37-year career at Hercules Powder Co. as a salesman, a job that brought him and his family to live in Bedford, Mass., Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Birmingham and Salt Lake. A transfer to Hercules's purchasing department allowed him to settle in Salt Lake to focus on raising his six boys and developing a creative streak. A serial hobbyist, Bob took up and mastered many creative endeavors, teaching himself woodworking, becoming an amateur astronomer, editing home movies with a Hollywood director's eye, taking up the recorder and harmonica, attending classes in sculpture, mastering the impossible art of the pun and writing poetry. His heart was one of a poet: Bob not only loved literature, especially the novels of John Updike and the poems of Robert Frost, he cared deeply for others. His compassion led him to train as a counselor for alcoholics in the years after his retirement and made him a loyal companion to the friends he made all throughout his life. Friends and family alike often received mixtapes Bob made of the jazz music he loved: Benny Goodman, Dave Brubeck and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. In 2003, Bob was diagnosed with Parkinson's and faced its every challenge with enduring courage and exemplary dignity. He will be never forgotten and always beloved by his family and anyone who came to know his easy laugh and gentle smile. Bob is survived by his wife of 59 years Mary Frances (Cronin); his sons Dr. Joseph Kelleher (Darci) of La Jolla, Calif., Bob of Salt Lake, Bill (Angie) of Salt Lake, Brian (Susan) of Georgetown, Tex., and Kevin (Linda) of Berkeley, Calif.; grandchildren Erin, Liam, Kevin, Julia, Ian, Thomas, Hannah and Aidan; brother Fred of Juno Beach, Fla., and sister Katherine of Salisbury, Md. He was preceded in death by his parents, J. Joseph and Madalyn (Gerner) Kelleher, brother Joseph and son Pat. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, July 28 at 11:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Villa Chapel, 451 Bishop Federal Lane. A private interment will take place at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery following the mass. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Bob's name to The St. Joseph Villa Foundation for Charity Care (www.stjosephvillafoundation.org) or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research (www.michaeljfox.org). The family would like to express its thanks to the staffs of St. Joseph Villa and LDS Hospital for the best care Bob could have received. Condolences may be sent to www.garnerfuneral.com