Robert E. Murray

In loving memory of a life well-lived and deeply cherished.

Obituary

Robert Edwin Murray, aged 66, passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 23, 2026, at Evelyn’s House hospice care in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Bob was born December 9, 1959, in Fremont, Ohio, to the late Ray and Lois (nee Berlekamp) Murray.

He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Patricia (nee Hess) Murray, daughter Gwendolyn (Michael) Mullinix of St. Louis and daughter Erin Murray (Keith Pendleton) of Kansas City; two grandchildren, Orion Mullinix and Nova Mullinix; two sisters, Rebecca (David) White of Dublin, Ohio, and Elizabeth (David) Crawford of Fremont, Ohio, and a brother, Bradley (Susan) Murray of Fremont, Ohio; two brothers-in-law, William (Tina) Hess of Prospect, Pennsylvania and Greg (Susan) Hess of Tucson, Arizona, a sister-in-law Suzanne (Richard) Wyant of Tipp City, Ohio, and many beloved cousins, nieces, nephews, and many, many dear friends and colleagues.

Bob graduated from Lakota High School of Kansas, Ohio, in 1978, then graduated in 1983 from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering, including three six-month summers in California as a co-op student at National Semiconductor. He received his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1993 from Washington University in St. Louis. 

Bob and Patty met at the University of Cincinnati during their sophomore year. They married July 3, 1983, and moved to St. Louis, Missouri, when Bob accepted an engineering position with McDonnell-Douglas, which later merged with Boeing. Bob retired from Boeing in 2016. He then served as a consultant with SimPhonics for eight years, where he continued his work with the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) for Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS), the result of a large industry and government effort starting in the 1990s to standardize a network protocol for simulation interoperability. Bob referred to his weekly SISO phone calls as his “Tuesday Ten O’Clock Telecons.” He was still working on DIS standards at the time he entered hospice.

Bob had a lifelong passion for aviation. Retirement from Boeing allowed him the opportunity to renew his private pilot’s license, which he had earned while in college. He immediately immersed himself in experimental aircraft building, upgrading, and flying through the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 32 at the St. Charles County Airport, also known as Smartt Field. Adding his earlier college flights, Bob logged over 1,000 flying hours. Through the Young Eagles program with EAA Chapter 32, Bob flew 272 kids on free, 20-minute flights to help promote and inspire aviation careers in young people. Young Eagles is the only program of its kind. EAA Chapter 32 pilots have flown 10,000 Young Eagles youth since 1992. Bob had served as the Chapter Treasurer for a little over one year. Flying in either his part-owned RV-10 or RV-12 was Bob’s preferred method of travel. He wasn’t fond of long car trips. He often flew to visit family in Ohio and Kansas City. 

Patty, Gwen, and Erin are forever grateful to the excellent nurses, aides, counselors, staff, and volunteers at Evelyn’s House for the outstanding and expert care Bob received and for maintaining his dignity at such a painful time. All of Bob’s family is grateful for the high-quality, compassionate care he received at Missouri Baptist’s Oncology Department and for the first-rate nursing and patient aide care provided in Missouri Baptist Hospital.

A memorial service will be Monday, August 31, 2026, at 1:00 pm at Hutchens Mortuary, 675 Graham Road, in Florissant. Immediately following the service, a visitation and dinner will be held at Catering to You, 12775 New Halls Ferry Road, also in Florissant. 

Bob was never much of a flowers guy, and he would have been so pleased if, instead of flowers, memorial contributions were made to his beloved EAA Chapter 32. The Chapter has an online portal at:

https://chapters.eaa.org/eaa32/donate

Please look for the yellow button, and there is an instructions link on the page if needed. Checks are welcome, too, payable to “EAA Chapter 32” and mailed to:

EAA Chapter 32
℅ Jim Hall
1 Clayton Estates Drive
Saint Louis, MO 63131-3104

Patty, Gwen, and Erin sincerely wish all family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors will join them on Monday. 

Blue Skies, our dearest Bob.

Hotels

For those traveling from out of town, we’ve listed a few nearby hotels below that we recommend.


Drury Inn & Suites St. Louis Airport

Gallery

Memory Wall

August 25, 2026

Patty, Gwen, and Erin, Thinking of all of you and sending so much love. Bob was such a wonderful person, and I’ll always remember his amazing stories, and all the times he made me laugh. He will be deeply missed. ❤️

Kelly Ann Wyant-Todorov

August 25, 2026

Lisa and I first met Bob and Patty through a mutual friend shortly after we moved into the neighborhood almost 30 years ago. Bob and I then crossed paths at work when he helped me with a tricky aircraft simulation issue. Bob had that unique gift of being able to comprehend incredibly complex concepts and then be able to articulate those concepts in understandable ways for the rest of us. Bob retired in 2016, but some of the software he wrote is still in use today and likely will be for a long, long time. I will miss the advice he would give me, whether if it was how to fix a problem at work or one around the house. I’ll miss him regularly stopping out in front of the house just to talk. He was always friendly and helpful. I will miss him at game night, where I will miss his offers for just a little more whisky. I will miss my resident expert. I will miss my neighbor. I will miss my friend.

Kurt Esker

August 25, 2026

I am so sorry for your loss! My thoughts are with you all at this difficult time

Robin Minich

August 25, 2026

My sincere condolences Cousin Patty and family.
Nagoya again in his honor.
Blue Skies and Fair Winds Bob.

Jeff Uhlman

August 25, 2026

I’ll never cut down another tree with out thinking of Bob,
The next door neighbor.

Ted Dachroeden

August 25, 2026

Heartfelt condolences to you and your family. May your wonderful memories bring you some peace during this time of great loss.

Kelly Shick Barrow

August 25, 2026

I will miss my Uncle Bob so much; he brought so much joy and levity to our family gatherings over the years. He showed us how to strike out on our own, and how to be successful in a field that most of us still don’t fully understand. He was always there with a science fact or tip, but also with encouragement and experience. Bob’s success at work was beyond measure and truly inspired me to live my life as I wanted to, not just confined to what was geographically nearby. He was always kind, raised two amazing daughters, and helped raise two fantastic grandchildren. It’s not secret that he was smart (genius in fact) but he never made anyone feel small because they didn’t know what he knew; rather he instilled curiosity and the confidence to go out and learn. I will miss my uncle very much but his spirit truly lives on in all of us and I know he played a substantial role in my life, which I am so grateful. Love you, Bob and I’ll always think of you when I have a single malt.

Joe Crawford

August 25, 2026

I will think of you often, especially when I have a wee dram of single-malt.

Jim Leighninger

Service