Robert A. Storey

Robert A. Storey, 71, passed away July 16th, 2003 after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born August 13th, 1931 in Seattle to William and Lilly Storey. He grew up in Seattle, graduating from Ballard High School in 1949. He then joined the Merchant Marines and sailed across the Pacific to faraway places. He came back to Seattle and joined the Air Force to serve during the Korean War.

He met Donna Eldred in Seattle in 1952. During a weekend leave, she joined him in Denver, Colorado and they were married. They were stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida and then Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas. At the end of his tour of duty, he and Donna moved back to Seattle and settled down. They lived in West Seattle for a time.

Bob went to the University of Washington on the G.I. bill for three years. Then he received his Associate of Sciences degree in Electrical Science from Shoreline Community College. While in college, he worked at Honeywell Engineering and then he took a job at the Department of Transportation for the State of Washington. This job became his lifelong career. He worked at the DOT for over 30 years; eventually becoming the Supervisor of the Signals Division.

He helped design and install the original I-90 floating bridge reversible lanes electrical wiring system. He personally opened and closed the express lanes each day for years, racing from one end to the other to keep traffic moving in the city. He was a tireless worker, on call 24 hours a day. His duties took him from Bellingham to Olympia; day or night. He even worked on the original Twin Peaks movie in North Bend. His job was to switch a signal light from green to red at a predetermined time in the movie. A star was almost born!

In 1966, his son Brian was born. Bob then moved the family to Broadview. In the family oriented neighborhood, he taught Brian to play baseball, football, and basketball. One year he enjoyed coaching his son?s baseball team. He also enjoyed watching Brian practice and play in all the sports in which he participated. As a family they enjoyed spending vacations visiting relatives in San Luis Obispo, California. They always tried to visit Disneyland while they were there. As he grew, Bob taught Brian how to treat people with respect and how to be a responsible man.

Bob retired from the DOT in the mid-nineties. He began a fitness regimen that included walking 5 ? 10 miles per day. He lost some weight and he and his wife talked about traveling. He enjoyed studying and reading about astronomy, airplanes, and World War II history. About two years after his retirement, his wife became ill. Their plans were put on hold and he began taking care of her.

Then he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998. He went through radiation therapy and hormone injections and seemed to be doing well. Unfortunately the cancer resurfaced near his spine after a couple of years and he needed more radiation. Again he seemed to be doing well and again the cancer resurfaced. This time the radiation only helped reduce the tumor, but the cancer was spreading.

He spent the last six months of his life looking after his wife Donna, who had knee replacement surgery, then a broken ankle, then a battle with a deadly staph infection. He was never cross or angry about his situation; he just kept going because that?s how he was raised.

He never wanted to be a burden to anyone, even to the nurses and caregivers who were there to take care of him. He was cheerful and in good spirits even though his body was wasting away. At the end, he was in no pain and his son was with him. He passed on with a smile on his face.

He was a man with no regrets about his life. He will be missed by his wife Donna, his son Brian, and his daughter-in-law Tammi. He will also be missed by everyone who came into contact with him over the course of his life. He was a gentle soul and thinking about him will always bring comfort to his friends and family.