Robert Arthur Emmick Sr.'s Obituary
Robert Arthur "Bob" Emmick, Sr., was born on September 15, 1936 in Jacksonville, Florida, the son of Charles William Emmick and America Mae (Allison) Emmick. He was called home by our Lord on Thursday, June 25, 2020.
Bob graduated from Leon High School in Tallahassee, FL in 1954 and then enlisted in the Air Force where he served from August 1954 until June 1963. While in the Air Force he joined the USAF Security Service where he was awarded a Top Secret clearance. As a member of the Security Service he was taught several languages as well as computer programming, which was very new at the time. He served in a variety of locations including Misawa, Japan and Peshawar, West Pakistan. His final station was Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX. While at Kelly Air Force Base, he met his future wife, Connie Gerfers. Connie and her sister Dorothy were among a group of volunteers who would attend dances held at the base so that the men would have someone to dance with. Connie's sister, Dorothy, noticed him sitting alone and asked him if there was someone he would like to dance with. He pointed to Connie and that was the beginning of their life together.
He married Connie Clare Gerfers on October 24, 1959 in San Antonio, Texas and they were married for 57 years. Shortly after they were married he took a job with the National Security Agency and they moved to Maryland. After a couple of years he took a job at NASA and the family moved to the Houston suburb of Clear Lake City. He then took a job with Tracor Inc. in Austin, TX, so that he could finish his Bachelor of Business degree from the University of Texas at Austin. With his degree obtained, a friend talked him into moving to Dallas, TX and working for a startup company, Electronic Data Systems, which was founded by H. Ross Perot. He spent the rest of his career at EDS and retired after 30 years of service.
While living in Dallas, he and Connie became members of First Baptist Dallas where he served as a Deacon. Bob enjoyed sailing, scuba diving and travel, but his favorite passion was his family. As they came along later, his grandchildren became one of the great joys of his retirement years. He was a wonderful example of a loving husband as he cared for Connie for many years as she suffered from and finally succumbed to Alzheimer's disease.
He was predeceased by his parents and wife, as well as his sister Charlene Joyce (Emmick) Perez and brother-in-law Lannie Perez. He is survived by son Robert A. Emmick, Jr. and wife Lisa (Wooldridge) Emmick and their children Elizabeth and Chelsea Emmick; son Murray Steven Emmick and wife Lucy (Kumala) Emmick and their children Makayla and Matthew Emmick; sister Laura (Emmick) Morrow and brother-in-law James Morrow; many in-laws; and many nieces and nephews who loved their “Uncle Bob.”
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, at Restland Road, Dallas, TX 75243.
The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Coker Cemetery Association.
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