Published: July 03, 2009 08:57 pm      

Harold Robert McKinley

July 19, 1930 - July 3, 2009

Harold Robert McKinley, 78, born July 19, 1930 to Harold and Blanche R. McKinley, Peru, passed away at 4:25 a.m. Friday, July 3, 2009, with his loving wife by his side. He was married to Norma Jean Austin on March 6, 1957 at Main Street Methodist Church. She preceded him in death. After 12 years of companionship, he wed Shirley Ann Morgan on April 21, 2009, at their home in Logansport.

He is survived by wife, Shirley; children, Deborah A. (Richard) Bean, Peru, Patricia Diane (Gary) Gallegos, Henderson, Nev.; stepdaughter, Victoria and husband Ron, whom Bob always said was the son he never had, and Gay Courtney, all of Logansport; a sister, Elizabeth Ann (Betty) and husband Floyd White Jr., Peru; a brother-in-law, Charles Austin, Logansport; a sister-in-law, Linda Jackson, Terre Haute; three grandsons, Peru; three granddaughters, Henderson, Nev.; two stepgrandson, Logansport; four stepgranddaughters, Logansport, Lucerne, Anderson and Panama City, Fla.; four great-grandsons; a great-granddaughter; six stepgreat-granddaughters; four stepgreat-grandsons and numerous nieces and nephews and his special loving cat, Bow-Wow. He was preceded in death by a stepson, Byron Keith Wickersham.

Bob served in the U.S. Navy from 1948 to 1953 in the Korean Conflict. He joined the Peru Fire Department in 1956 and retired in July 1976. He worked at Eikenberry Enterprises from 1977 to 1995 in the transportation department. In younger years, he was in the first unit of the Civil Air Patrol in Miami County. He loved to fly and donated thousands of hours of manual labor to get the Peru airport up and going as it should be. He was the first customer at the airport and the first student to get flying license around 1971, trained mainly by Harold Kaiser. He loved scuba diving, roller skating, dancing and traveling. He was a member of the American Legion in Peru, Moose Lodge 249 and Mannechore Life member. He was a Red Cross and First Aid instructor and one of the first EMTs in Miami County.

Bob was a loving and generous man, who made multiple donations to various charities. He established the Norma J. McKinley Memorial Scholarship after her death for all children of active duty Peru firefighters. To date, 16 first-year and 11 second-year scholarships have been awarded. He will be sadly missed by his loving family. He will be remembered for his fantastic sense of humor and delicious peach cobbler. The family would like to thank Guardian Angel Hospice for their loving care.

Services are 11 a.m. Tuesday at Flowers-Leedy Funeral Home, 105 W. Third St., Peru. Friends may call 2 to 7 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Mount Hope Cemetery, Peru. Memorial contributions may be made to Guardian Angel Hospice or a favorite charity.