Robert Eldon “Bob” Malone, age 88, passed away Saturday, April 29th, 2017 at Bethel Home in Montezuma, Kansas.

Robert Eldon Malone was born to Robert and Ethel Malone on August 1, 1928 on a farm near Edison, NE. He was welcomed into the world by three older brothers, Floyd, Harold, and Leland and he soon had 2 younger siblings, Barbara and Kenneth. During the Depression, Bob’s father farmed and Grandpa said he remembered a year where they survived mostly on sweet potatoes. While living on the farm near Edison, Bob attended a country school but hard times forced the family to relocate to Arapaho, NE and then to St. Francis, KS. Robert Sr. made potato chips in a vat in the family garage in St. Francis and the family had a route where they sold chips. That is where Grandpa got his nickname “Chips”.

In 1946, Bob graduated from St. Francis High school. He planned to go to college the next year but an appendectomy kept him home until the following year when he attended K-State. He left K-State for Fort Hays State University where he played basketball, lettered in track, was a member of the K-Club and joined the Phi Sigma Tau fraternity.

At the first school dance, Bob met Mary Weidner. Bob was a great dancer. He asked Mary to jitterbug and danced his way into her heart. When Bob and Mary met, he introduced himself as Bob. His friends called him Chips and his family called him Eldon but he didn’t like either name. When Grandma met Grandpa’s family, they didn’t know who she was talking about and she didn’t know who they were talking about!

Grandpa and Grandma dated all through college and married on December 29th, 1950 at the Sublette Christian Church. Bob graduated in 1951 from Fort Hays with a degree in Industrial Arts. That spring there was a terrible flood in Hays and the school was closed. At the time, Bob and Mary were living in Willrose Gardens, housing for married students. They had to walk out of their apartment in water up to their waists but Bob and Mary kept each other afloat. There was no graduation due to the flood and Bob received his diploma in the mail.

Bob entered the service upon graduating from college. While he was in boot camp in Augusta, GA, his first son, Michael, was born. When Mike was six weeks old, Grandma Weidner and Mary drove to Augusta so Grandpa could see his first son for the first time. Mary and Mike stayed in Georgia until Bob was sent to serve in Ziebrucken, Germany. Grandpa was a M.P. at a dispatch center and it was his job to keep the young soldiers out of trouble while they waited to be dispatched. After a year of keeping soldiers in line, Bob came home to Sublette to Mary and Mike.

Robert Sr was a carpenter and Bob learned his carpentry skills from his father. When Bob returned from Germany, he worked briefly building homes in Arvada, CO before settling in Sublette. Bob and Mary had three more children in Sublette; Cami, Janet, and Mitch. While raising his family in Sublette, Bob was active in the community serving as a Boy Scout leader and Little League coach. His granddaughter recently met a man who remembered Bob as a little league coach in the 50s. Bob left an impression on that man who as a young boy wasn’t a great baseball player but had been treated kindly and fairly by Grandpa. I think that speaks to the kind of man Grandpa was. He coached that boy for one summer but is still remembered 60 years later for his big heart.

Bob’s job with the gas company moved the family from Sublette to Beaver and after 30 years with the gas company, Bob and Mary retired to Great Bend, KS. Grandpa and Grandma were avid travelers in their retirement traveling through Europe and the United States. One of Bob’s favorite trips was to Venezuela where he drove through the mountains and visited Angel Falls.

While living in Great Bend, Bob continued to be actively involved in his community. He was a devoted member of the Lions Club, played bridge and golf, and attended the local theater often. Bob and Mary also spent much of their retirement visiting their children and grandchildren.

He is survived by his loving wife of 66 years, Mary of Montezuma, KS; daughters; Camella Sue Jantz and husband Dan Eberling of Montezuma, KS, Janet Kay Cook and husband Scott of Alva, OK; sons, Michael Jay Malone and wife Teresa of Great Bend, KS, Robert Mitchel Malone and wife Mary Ann of Weatherford, OK; 9 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren; a brother, Kenneth Malone

He is preceded by his brothers, Floyd Malone and Harold Malone, and his sister, Barbara Rogers.

A Memorial Service will be held 11:00 am Saturday, May 6, 2017, at the Sublette United Methodist Church, Sublette, Kansas. Interment will be at the Haskell County Cemetery at a later date. Cremation has taken place.

Suggested memorial contributions are to the Sublette United Methodist Church and Bethel Home in care of Weeks Family Funeral Home & Crematory, PO Box 1200, Sublette, Ks 67877. Condolences may be left online at WeeksFamilyFuneralHome.com

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