Robert J. Campbell, 96, Kansas City, KS, died Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at the University of Kansas Hospital. Funeral Services will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, April 15, at the Porter Funeral Home, 1835 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, KS. Burial in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens. Friends may call 5-7 p.m. Wednesday at the Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial contributions to Sunset Hills Christian Church.
Bob was born February 9, 1925, in Danville, PA the son of Charles and Mary (Robbins) Campbell. Bob graduated from Wyandotte High School in 1943 and then joined the U.S. Navy in July of 1943. After Naval Training School in Farragut, ID he served aboard the destroyer USS Tingey as an Electricians Mate 2nd class. As a member of Adm. Halsey's 3rd Fleet, the Tingey and her crew participated in Asiatic-Pacific Raids in Western New Guinea, Marianas, Leyete, Luzon, and Iwo Jima operations and the liberation of the Philippines. They also assisted in the rescue of survivors from the USS Franklin while riding out several severe typhoons in the Pacific. Bob also served aboard the USS Mobile during 1945-46. After his World War II service he attended K-State as an Electrical Engineering major. On June 18, 1950 he married Lucile Cowgill. Bob was called back to the service in the U.S. Army for the Korean Conflict and reported to duty at Fort Bragg, NC in April of 1951 where he served as a Sgt. 1st class in the 758th Field Artillery Battalion. Lucile joined Bob at Ft. Bragg and their son Ken was born there in September of 1951. At the end of the Korean Conflict they returned to the Kansas City area. Bob then went to work at Southwestern Bell as a PBX installer and systems technician, retiring after 31 years of service. He was a member of Sunset Hills Christian Church and was an active member of the Telephone Pioneers of American and the VFW of Eastern Kansas. Bob was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Lucile in 2017. He is survived by 3 children and their spouses, Ken and Melanie Campbell, Topeka, KS, Marla and Ron Vickery, Tucson, AZ, Kim and Mike Pultro, New Britain, PA, 7 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.