Robert “Bob” West passed away at his home in Langley on March 10, 2010.
He was born on Feb. 8, 1929 in St. Louis, Mo. to Robert D. West Jr. and Gladys Robinson. He had one older sister, Jean West Stevens.
At 17 years of age, he joined the Army.
After his service, he attended the University of Missouri, where he met and married Donna Dostal in 1951. He was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
Bob and his young family moved to Minnesota, where he worked for Honeywell, and then moved to California, where he worked for Hughes Aircraft on space and defense projects such as the Surveyor moon lander.
Bob received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business from Pepperdine University and was a registered professional engineer. He retired from Hughes in 1989, but kept active for the next few years as an engineering consultant for SES Astra.
Bob was very active in the Boy Scouts in his youth, and when his sons were of scouting age, he became the scoutmaster for Troop 998 in Palos Verdes, Calif.
Bob loved to tinker with computers and all sorts of electronic gadgets, go on family camping trips, fishing, hunting and crabbing. Bob was very interested in his genealogy and made many trips to the United Kingdom for both research and fun. He participated in a DNA research project where, among other results, he found he was related to many Scottish clans including the MacGregors and MacDonalds.
Bob liked to cook and was an infamous holiday-pie maker and silver-dollar pancake master.
Bob and Donna moved to Whidbey Island in 2003, where he was a member of the Masons (Langley Lodge 218) and the Langley Men’s Club. He participated in the Masons’ annual chili cook-off, even winning first prize one year.
He really enjoyed the slow-paced island life and especially the occasional visits from wildlife such as hummingbirds, pesky deer and “Hootie” the owl.
Bob leaves behind his beloved wife of 59 years, Donna (Langley); daughter Nancy (Washington); sons Rob (Colorado) and Bill (California); six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; in-laws Jerry Dostal (United Kingdom) and Chuck and Judy McDonald (Coupeville); and numerous nieces, nephews and friends throughout the world.
At Bob’s request, there will be no memorial service.
A memorial fund in his name has been established with the Boy Scouts of America, Mount Baker Council. Mount Baker Council, BSA, 1715 100th Place SE #B, Everett, WA 98208.
