He loved cruising. He loved going to St. Maarten and a great accomplishment was when he made it to Blast Away Beach to see the airplanes fly over the beach. He also loved Grand Cayman and especially loved the turtle farm, with the beautiful old sea turtles.
He was a software engineer and worked mainly in the defense industry creating devices for the research and development of our troops. His biggest legacy was creating software that formed our current road tolling system, which has led to the ability to create the autonomic cars. He leaves behind at least seven patents!
He was an avid football fan of Penn State, the Steelers, and a reluctant Buckeye fan.
He also loved cars, especially his first car, a bright orange, 1970 Datsun 240Z, given to him by his aunt Kathy. His family towed that car all the way from PA to FL.
He loved computers from building them to programming them. He shared this passion with his dad who actually built him a computer when he was just a teen.
Mr. McConnell is preceded in death by his father, Robert "Bob" Earl McConnell. He is survived by his loving wife of 91/2 years, Kristy McConnell; children, Cynthia Nicole McConnell, Gavin Robert McConnell, and Erik Eugene Burch; mother, Patricia McConnell; siblings, Kimberly (Mike) Cannaday, Brian McConnell; grandmother, Betty Henry; mother-in-law, Shirley Knutsen; and nieces and nephews, Ashley (Brent) Plansinis, Kaitlyn (Jon) Jusino, Zachary Cannaday, and Austin Cannaday. He is also survived by his fur babies; cat, Tony; his dogs, Brutus, Seamus, and Penny, and his grand kitty, Penguin.
A meet and greet with family and friends for Robert will be held Sunday, July 19, 2020 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Baldwin Fairchild Funeral Home, 601 North Park Avenue, Apopka FL 32712. Funeral Service will be held on Monday, July 20, 2020 at 11:00 AM at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Glen Haven Memorial Park, 2300 Temple Drive, Winter Park, FL 32789.
In honor of Rob, you are welcome to come to the service in casual attire.
Rob loves flowers but if you’d like to make a donation instead, please help our cousin Natalie Knutsen, who is a brain cancer survivor : send to Nuts about Natalie – Secure online donation https://pages.lls.org/ltn/tn/ETN20/NutsAboutNatalie or mail option: LLS East Tenessee PO Box 51426 Knoxville, TN 37950-9831
