Robert Tonry Whitehead

December 21, 1935 — November 8th, 2018

Robert Tonry Whitehead, Born December 21st, 1935, was reunited with his wife Patricia, his brother Richard, his sister Nancy, and his mother and father, Alice and Robert Whitehead, this past Thursday, November 8th, 2018.

Robert, or Bob, as he was known to those who knew him, was a storyteller. Holidays celebrated in his parents home on Park Avenue in Baldwin. A babysitter who fed he and his sister only brussel sprouts. Constance Gronenberg, the girl next door who called him Bobby and wanted to get married. The piano concert where his sister Nancy practiced and he did not.  The time his father took him to Ebbets Field to see Jackie Robinson play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, April 15th, 1947. His run home from St. Christopher's Catholic School in Baldwin when the Nuns told he and his classmates that the Japanese were marching down Merrick Road. That time he and his cousin set the bushes on fire and almost, but thankfully did not, burn the house down. Stories of his fathers hardware store. Stories of his college years. Stories of his family, his friends, his life.

Bob loved baseball, and everything about it. He could remember and recite any detail of any player, team or game that you asked him. Bob loved tennis. Watching it, playing it, and sharing that love with his children. Bob loved golf, and played all over the world in the later years of his life. Bob loved Notre Dame, a love he shared with his own father and his two sons. Visiting the stadium, tailgating with family, and rooting for those fighting Irish.

Bob loved many things, but his true love was his wife Patricia, who he met and married after a whirlwind engagement, at Patricia's family home on Long Island. They had four children, Darcy, Jessica, Robert, and Kevin, and traveled the country with Bob's work. Beginning his career with General Electric as an appliance salesman, Pat and Bob would ultimately end up moving to Little Rock Arkansas where they both owned successful businesses, bringing them back to St. Louis, Missouri, where they settled into the start of their retirement.

Bob and Pat shared their stories of growing up in New York with all four of their children. Stories and traditions that they now share with their own children.

Bob spent the later part of his life traveling the world. Golfing, watching baseball games, and enjoying the life he wanted.

Bob is survived by his four children (Darcy, Jessica, Robert, and Kevin), their spouses, seven grandchildren, cousins, nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, and his stories. The stories he so enthusiastically shared with anyone who would listen. The stories we will continue to tell, and that will live on in the history of our family.

Ovaltine. Silly Putty. Jones Beach. The Cabana. White trash trucks and the REAL Whitey. Long talks. The holes in one. That time you ran the New York Marathon. That time you and Pat went on a cruise. Nolan Ryan. Shu Shu the poodle. Nathan's Hot Dogs. Tijuana Brass. First house on the block to have a television. Only house on the block to have a dollhouse. Robert Tonry Whitehead, Bob, Dad, Uncle, Grandpa, Santa Claus, we will tell your stories and will miss you so very much.