Robert T. Isham

1921 - 2015

94, died peacefully in his sleep on September 6, 2015 in Santa Barbara, CA. Mr. Isham, known as "Rab" to his friends, was a decorated World War II veteran and avid golfer, and led an active business life in manufacturing in Chicago, residing in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, IL, before he and his wife retired full-time to Santa Barbara, CA in 1991.

While in the Chicago area, Mr. Isham owned and ran Streeter-Amet Co., a manufacturer of heavy duty weighing and counting mechanisms, and Wyco Tool Company, a maker of concrete construction tools. He was active in the Republican Party and served on a number of charitable organizations, including as a founding director of the Northern Illinois Council on Substance Abuse, and as a member of the first committee of the Lurie Children's Memorial Pro-Am Golf Event.

Mr. Isham was born in 1921, and grew up in Lake Forest, spending his summers in Lake Geneva, WI. He attended the Hill School in Pottstown, PA, and graduated from Yale University in 1943. He served in WWII as a field artillery forward observer in France and Germany, earning five battle stars and a bronze star.

Mr. Isham married Bleecker Burnett of Winnetka, IL in 1949. She pre-deceased him in 1996. He is survived by his daughter, Julia Ward and her husband, Jeffrey, of Hailey, ID, a son, Robert T. Isham, Jr. and his wife, Nancy, of Lake Bluff, IL and four grandchildren: Bleecker Burnett Ward of New York City; Robert T. Isham III, of Chicago, Samuel T. Isham and George S. Isham II, both of Missoula, MT.

Mr. Isham was known as a fierce competitor at golf, playing in a number of international competitions for the United States Senior Golf Association, of which he was a longtime member. He was club champion at Shore Acres and Old Elm golf clubs, past president of Shore Acres, a past member of the Onwentsia Club and the Racquet Club of Chicago and a member of the Valley Club of Montecito, CA.

A graveside service for the family is planned. Memorials in lieu of flowers may be sent in his name to the Western Golf Association's Evans Scholars Foundation or to any Republican candidate of your choosing.