Robert Kay Chandler

Robert Kay Chandler, known as Kay throughout his childhood, was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on August 30, 1936. He and his two sisters, one and two years younger, grew up in a sugar plantation town called Central Aguirre, where his father worked for the sugar company. They lived in a house that was provided by the company. They enjoyed spending time at the community pool across the street that the company provided for the town residents. Kay's grandfather got the company to also build a nine hole golf course. Kay loved to play and became quite a skilled golfer. He became a caddie and could play for free on Mondays. Kay and his sisters spent a lot of time outdoors enjoying the warm weather. There were two one room school houses run by the company with one teacher for grades 1 to 4 and one for grades 5 to 8. English was spoken at home and Spanish outside the home. For six months during the second world war, Kay's father took him to live with his aunt and uncle in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. Years later he attended, and lived at, a Quaker high school in Pennsylvania, called George School, which he enjoyed. He learned to be a skilled ping pong player and played varsity soccer, even being selected for an all star team for the local Philadelphia area.
Kay attended Washington and Lee University in Virginia for two and half years, then joined the army for two years. The Navy and Air Force wouldn't take him because he was color blind. He was sent to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where he was trained in surveying. (They would tell the artillery where to place their weapons.) While in the army, Kay's father had died and Kay went back to Washington and Lee for a year. He ultimately moved to Boston where his sister, Lynn, was attending college and his mother was a resident house mother. Lynn found him a room close to her and he would have supper with her and her friends most evenings. He got a job at the first National Bank of Boston and started going by the name of Bob.
Bob met Norma Margaret MacKinnon in the fall of 1959 at Arthur Murray's Dance Studio, when he signed up for ballroom dance lessons. She was his dance instructor. Since instructors were not allowed to date their students, she quit her job so they could continue to date, and ultimately married in the LDS chapel in Cambridge, MA on October 29, 1960. They were later sealed in the Washington DC temple. On their first date, Norma told Bob all about the LDS church to which she belonged. He embraced it, and would go on to serve in numerous capacities during his lifetime, including home teacher to many of the elderly widows in the congregation; Bishop of the newly formed Arlington Ward from 1984 to 1989; and one of the first sealers in the Boston Temple when it opened in 2000. He served in the temple until moving to Utah and was able to perform many of his grandkids marriages and sealings.
As newlyweds, Bob and Norma lived on the third floor of the home where Norma grew up in Somerville, MA. By 1966, they had three children. Bob started working at UPS and they moved their family to Medford, MA., where they met life long friends and had one more child. He returned to school, taking night classes at Boston University and graduated with a BA in interdisciplinary studies in 1976. In 1978 they moved closer to Medford Square, where they finished raising their kids. Bob always made time for his kids. He enjoyed playing tennis, miniature golf, bowling, and going for ice cream afterward. As a grandad, he continued to be actively engaged with, and a support to, his grandchildren. Bob was an incredibly loving brother, husband, father, and grandfather. He was extremely hard working, completely devoted to his family and his faith, and was constantly in service to others. He radiated a spirit of warmth and kindness that touched all who knew him and serves as an example of a true and faithful disciple of our Savior.
In 2019 Bob and Norma moved to Orem, Utah, where Bob passed away surrounded by family on May 4, 2025. He is survived by his two sisters Jane Wolfe and Lynnette Chandler, four children and spouses Scott (Cindy) Chandler, Brian (Susan) Chandler, Ellen (Michael) Pustizzi, and Douglas Chandler. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren, and numerous other adopted family members.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 2:00 pm at the LDS Church at 80 S 280 E Orem, Utah 84097, with visitation starting at 1:30 pm.
to view the service online please click here. www.walkersanderson.com