Robert Duncan

1939 - 2026

Robert Duncan

March 3, 1939 - January 24, 2026

Springfield, Missouri - Robert William Duncan (Bob), 86, of Springfield, Missouri, formerly of Bonner Springs, Kansas, passed away peacefully at 4:39 am Saturday, January 24, 2026, at Cox Medical Center South.

Bob lived a long, adventurous life. He was a man of the earth, sky, sea and wind. As a young boy growing up in Springfield he enjoyed the outdoors fishing, hiking and horseback riding along the White River, what is now the bottom of Table Rock Lake. Active in Boy Scouts he would often tell the story of how his parents would fly their plane over the scout camp and drop a parachute with survival snacks and notes to the boys. He continued these joys and experiences throughout his life with a love of the outdoors taking his family of four on many hiking and camping adventures in their blue suburban to Colorado and beyond. Even up until recent years he trekked on many multi-day backpacking trips with his beloved Springfield hiking group.

Bob graduated from Parkview High School in Springfield in 1957, the opening year of the new school. He was the first student body president in the school's long history. He then went on to spend a year at the University of Colorado, again being tempted by the great outdoors and mountains. He had many great college stories as the dawn of space exploration began in 1957 while attending there, intensifying his imagination and desire to learn and study. However, the slopes of the Rockies continued to call and he became a self-proclaimed "ski bum" living at Ed's Beds and working in the attached restaurant to earn enough money to ski. With encouragement from his parents, or perhaps a tug on the ear from his mother, Nell, he returned to Springfield where he enrolled at Drury University and excelled in his studies. While considering following in his father's pioneering footsteps in medicine, once again his adventurous spirit won out, and he pursued his passion for flight.

Bob's passion for flying began early on with Scouts. When he was in grade school he made scrapbooks full of pictures of WWII fighter planes. When he was twelve he joined the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program. His passion for flying was cultivated by an intense curiosity and sense of adventure gifted to him from his parents who loved to travel. Bob joined the Navy and was accepted and chosen to the flight program where he finished at the top of every class. That allowed him to "pick his plane" which, of course, was the newest and fastest of them at that time, the F4 Phantom, capable of speeds in excess of twice the speed of sound. His proficiency at flying was noted and he was chosen to go to Naval Air Station Miramar, otherwise known at the time as "Fightertown USA." This would later be known as "Top Gun." Bob took his skills across the globe and into the early part of the Vietnam War during the Gulf of Tonkin conflict. He would often tell stories of landing his plane on a what seemed like a tiny floating airstrip in the middle of the ocean, at night during a storm relying on instruments from the 50s and 60s to guide him to safety. During one mission he landed a crippled fighter, with a dangling missile, on one wing's landing gear (a very tricky maneuver with a jet) slowing the aircraft down enough so that when the other two landing gears touched down the missile wouldn't drag far enough to explode. As he gently set the plane down on the other wing's landing gear and finally on the front landing gear, as expected the missile caught the ground spinning the plane around causing the front landing gear to collapse and the plane came to a stop…all of this planned out. He flew over 100 missions from the USS Constellation, Ticonderoga and Ranger aircraft carriers. While a member of Fighter Squadron 142 Attack Wing 14, known as the "Ghostriders" he flew many sorties in reconnaissance and combat becoming a Navy Hero and earning many decorations, among them the Navy Commendation medal with "V" for valor for actions involving personal hazard during active combat and the Distinguished Flying Cross, America's oldest aviation medal first given to Charles Lindbergh. Bob earned the DFC for heroism in aerial flight during his campaign. Upon finishing his active duty roll he continued in the Naval Reserves and eventually achieved full retirement with the rank of Captain.

Bob's passion for flight carried him and his young family to the Kansas City area, where they settled in Bonner Springs. He continued his aviation career as a pilot for Trans World Airlines (TWA) for 35 years, retiring as a captain in 2002 after his final flight to Puerto Rico. Bob loved his time as a commercial pilot flying over the seas and through the Aurora Borealis. However, his favorite part of commercial flying were the passengers whose lives were in his hands. While on flights he also enjoyed his role as tour guide announcing over the intercom numerous sites to your left and right, many of them with personal descriptions of people he knew near those places. He also enjoyed having fun taking wagers from people flying to Las Vegas on the exact minute and second they would touch down, the winner receiving a bottle of champagne. He knew how to ease the minds of nervous travelers allowing them to sit back, relax and enjoy their flight.

Throughout his flying career Bob dodged bullets and missiles and was even hijacked during his early years as a TWA pilot. However, despite what might seem like a tumultuous lifestyle, he is most known for his storytelling, his sense of humor, his encyclopedic breadth of knowledge and experiences but also for his patience, peace and gentle nature.

Bob learned to sail early on but while in the Navy this became his second passion. Bob was at peace on the water. He sailed the 800 nautical mile open sea passage from the Bahamas to Bermuda without cell phones, without gps using traditional and celestial navigation. He said the stars were so bright that they would create shadows even though the moon was not shining. Single-handed he piloted sailboats for his family from Seattle through the rough seas of Puget Sound to and throughout the San Juan Islands, throughout the British Virgin Islands and Bahamas, through the intracoastal waterway in Alabama and on many family outings on Lake Perry in his beloved boat that he restored by hand, a mahogany Thistle-class sailboat called The Indigo.

Bob never slowed down and his most beloved passion was his family. He enjoyed watching that adventurous spirit handed down to his children and grandchildren. They all love their grandpa dearly and his goofy faces, noises, jokes and stories will all be sorely missed. And although the stories may not sound the same with the narrator now gone, they will certainly be remembered.

All of Bob's passions relied on the wind: to create the sound amongst the aspens and pines of the mountains, to provide lift for him to fly, to fill his sails to glide across the water, to tell his jokes that often contained some hot air, to make his grand, fanfare entrances with the mouth-finger "trumpet" and to occasionally produce some "wind" when he had a grandchild pull his finger. The wind last entered Bob's lungs at 4:39 am on January 24, 2026 earning him a new set of wings to carry him on his next adventure.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Robert Dalrymple and Nell Duncan and his nephew Brian Robert Duncan. He is survived by his former spouse Carol Garlow Duncan, sons Robert Douglas Duncan and his significant other Christy Crosier, Dr. William Hayward and his wife, Tiffany Duncan; his grandchildren, Vivian and fiancé Sam, Evelyn, Dalton and wife Ashley, Will, Dorthea (Dori), and Stuart, and a great granddaughter, Madeline; his partner of many years Sue Burwell Phillips; his brother Dr. Douglas and wife Linda Duncan and nephew Craig Duncan and wife Trena Haffenden and their children, Joseph and Beth. He also leaves behind numerous friends.

A Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026, at the Greenlawn Funeral Home East, 3540 East Seminole, Springfield, MO 65809, 417-887-6565

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Honor Flight of the Ozarks.