Robert McKell

1923 - 2016

Robert McKell

CHILLICOTHE: Robert McKell, 93, died peacefully at home on August 6, 2016, with his wife, Jennifer, and his children around him.

Bob was born July 30, 1923, in Boston MA, the son of William Scott and Estelle Coward McKell. On June 9, 1945, he married Amy Hardcastle Story, who died April 17, 1988. They had four children: Phoebe Hardcastle McKell (David Ross McMillen) of Chillicothe; Alice Lockwood McKell (Patrick O'Brien) of Jensen Beach, FL; Robin Story McKell (Jeffrey James Clark) of Chillicothe; and William Scott McKell (Ann Louise Helm) of Minneapolis MN; all of whom survive.

On September 20, 2008, Bob married Jennifer Thompson, who survives. He is also survived by his stepdaughter Caroline Thompson Gilroy (Jonathan Carter); two grandchildren, Patrick Allen Currier (Angela Marie Mick) of Hamilton OH, and Christina Anne Glassburn (Patrick Walden Glassburn) of Chillicothe, and five great-grandchildren, Kelly Sierra Currier, Sarah Marie Currier, Thomas Robert Currier, Haley Hardcastle Glassburn, and Aaron Patrick Glassburn.

Bob is also survived by brothers Joseph, David, and Thomas McKell and sister Helen Sproat, as well as many cousins, nieces, and nephews. Bob maintained close and loving contact with his extended family throughout his life, particularly the Coward and Seelhorst families of Windy Hill and the Cook family of Willow Branch.

Bob was an electrical engineering graduate of the University of Colorado, and served as a second lieutenant in the Army Signal Corps in Japan during World War II.

Bob retired from the Board of Directors of Horizon Telcom, Inc. on May 21, 2014. During his tenure the company transformed from a local telephone company to a regional broadband service provider. Over his 66 years of service with Horizon and its predecessor, the Chillicothe Telephone Company, he served as assistant manager, president, and Board Chairman; he was Chairman for fifty years. Bob was a telecommunications pioneer. Under his leadership the company's ventures included VICOM, an early iteration of today's internet; TELCOM, a cable television station; and a distance learning network among the high schools of Ross County. Bob's colleagues and employees of the company were very important relationships to him throughout his life.

Bob was the former chairman of the Savings Bank and Huntington Bank of Chillicothe boards of directors, the OU-C Regional Council, and the Salvation Army Advisory Board. He was an executive committee member of the Ohio Educational Broadcasting Commission and past president of the Union Scioto Board of Education. He was treasurer and part owner of the Chief Logan Motel and a former tutor at McArthur School. Many local organizations benefitted from his quiet support.

Bob was a railroad enthusiast and a skilled photographer from an early age. This combination led him to being arrested on suspicion of being a spy in North Carolina just ahead of World War II.

Bob was confirmed in the Swedenborgian Church in Cincinnati. During much of his adult life he was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Chillicothe, where he was a junior warden. In late life, with his wife Jennifer, he attended Walnut Street United Methodist Church where his grandfather Joseph Scott McKell had been a trustee.

Bob was a past board member of the United States and Ohio Independent Telephone Associations, and a member of the Independent Telephone Pioneers Association. He was a lifetime member of the Chillicothe Rotary Club and a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow. Bob was an honorary member of the Union Township Volunteer Fire Department and he belonged to the Baltimore & Ohio and Norfolk & Western Historical Society.

Generations of Bob's family relied on his kindness, strength, humor and paternal spirit, including his mother and siblings after the early death of his father. He will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered.

Funeral services will be Wednesday, August 10 at 11 am at Walnut Street United Methodist Church with Rev. Joe Ziraldo officiating. Friends may call on the family Tuesday, August 9 from 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm at Haller Funeral Home & Crematory.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to United Way of Ross County, 69 E Water St, Chillicothe, OH 45601. His online guestbook is available at www.HallerFuneralHome.com