Robert Richard VanZant Sr.

Robert Richard VanZant Sr., 81, of Leawood, KS, passed away Friday, June 6, 2003, at the University of Kansas Medical Center. The Requiem Mass will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 10, 2003, at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 6630 Nall Ave., Mission, KS 66202. Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Monday, June 9, at D.W. Newcomer's Sons Overland Park Chapel, 8201 Metcalf. Cremation. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the American Heart Association, 6800 W. 93rd St., Overland Park, KS 66212, or the Memorial Fund of St. Michael's Church. Robert Richard VanZant Sr., son of Lila Smith and Raymond B. VanZant, was born on May 1, 1922, in Sabetha, KS. He attended Paseo High School in Kansas City, graduating in 1940. Like many veterans of World War II, Bob's college education was interrupted by the war. After being selected for the Navy's V-12 program, he was commissioned an Ensign on May 31, 1944. Three days later, he married Miss Florence Lucille Bethel in Kansas City. Almost immediately, he headed East to study radar technology at Harvard and MIT. Bob subsequently served as the Radar Officer for a seaplane squadron patrolling the waters near the Panama Canal. After the war, Bob returned to Iowa State University, where he received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering. He then spent five years at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in White Oak, MD, where some of his research activities became the subject of his Master's thesis. He earned his Master's Degree from the University of Maryland. Beginning in 1952, Bob was employed by Wilcox Electric Company until his retirement in 1987. He was General Manager for two years. At the time he retired, Wilcox had been acquired as a subsidiary of Northrup-Grumman and Bob was VicePresident of the Contracts Department. In retirement, Bob was an active volunteer for many of the causes that interested him. He played an active role in various political activities and provided 15 years of loyal service to Channel 5's "Call for Action." He spent many hours volunteering his services as a tax preparer. While he enjoyed both music and his computer, many friends and relatives shared in the produce from his vegetable gardens, as well as the beauty of his flower gardens. His gardens occupied much of his time in the past few years. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and greatgrandfather. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Lucille, of the home; his two children, both born in Washington, D.C., Jeanne Louise Hastings and her husband, Charles, Lake Forest, CA, and Robert Richard Jr. and his wife, Kathleen, Louisville, CO, and their son, Tom Kelley; two grandchildren, Julie Stevenson Nilson and John Dwight Stevenson; and a great-granddaughter, Jenna Nicole Nilson. (Arrangements: D.W. Newcomer's Sons Overland Park Chapel, 8201 Metcalf, 913-648-6224)