Robert "Bob" Helton

Robert "Bob" Eugene Helton, 81, of Virginia Beach, VA, passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 5, 2024.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Beverly Sue Helton; his granddaughter, Tiffany Michelle Helton; his parents, James and Betty L. Helton of Mt. Carmel, IL; and his brother, Arthur F. Helton of Mt. Carmel, IL. He is survived by his children, Jeffrey (Donna), Steven (Kristina), Timothy (Brenda), Michael (Jennifer), and Ginger Simpson (James); 11 grandchildren and five great grandchildren; his sisters, Sandy Kimmel, Pat Johnson, and Kim Miskell; and multiple nieces and nephews.
Bob was born in Mt. Carmel, IL and lived there until he enlisted in the military. He retired from the United States Navy in 1985 after serving for 24 years. He earned multiple awards during his service: Meritorious Unit Commendation; Sea Service Deployment Ribbon w/3 Stars; six Good Conduct Awards; Navy Battle "E"; Navy Unit Commendation; National Defense Medal; Vietnam Service Medal; and Vietnam Campaign Ribbon. Following his Navy career, he went back to college while working and earned an Associate Degree in Business Management. After his retirement from the Navy, Bob worked multiple different jobs over the years, his final job as a security guard for Event Staffing until COVID shut everything down and Alzheimer's set in. After he moved into the memory care unit at Harmony at Independence, Bob could be seen "sitting guard" near the front desk, keeping track of who was coming and going.
When his children grew up and had families of their own, Bob made it a priority to gather everyone for an annual cookout at Easter or during the summer and for the annual Helton family Christmas get together, reserving space on Christmas Eve every year for the next Christmas Eve to ensure there would be a space to gather and enjoy time together as a family. When the first batch of grandchildren were little, he would take them to Busch Gardens or Kings Dominion or other fun outings.
Bob's children have fond memories of their father always doing things for kids in the neighborhood, enlisting his boys' help in preparing the recreation room on base for movies or dances and cleaning up afterwards. In the words of his oldest son Jeff, " he was a great father and instilled a great work ethic and good principles in his kids. He taught us by example how to honor your spouse. He would do anything for mom or us and worked his ass off to provide for our family." He will be greatly missed but he will carry on in our fond memories.
A memorial service will be held on September 18, 2024 at 11AM at Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home, Princess Anne Chapel, 3445 Princess Anne Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23456. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.hollomon-brown.com or in the form of a donation to the American Cancer Society in memory of his granddaughter, Tiffany, or to the Alzheimer's Association.