Robert "Bob" Faulkender

He attended Dayton Co-op High School, where students worked for two weeks and then attended school for two weeks through an eleven-month term. After attending his first year at the University of Colorado, and pledging Sigma Chi Fraternity, Robert accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Robert accepted his commission in the Infantry and qualified as Ranger and Airborne at Ft. Benning, Georgia, with the 3rd Infantry Division, 1st Battle Group, 15th Infantry. His service career included three years in Germany and two tours in Vietnam in 1964 and again in 1968, where a land mine earned him the Combat Infantryman’s Badge and the Purple Heart. He was a member of the 1st Infantry Division and the executive officer of the 16th Battalion. Between tours, Robert earned a Master’s in Operations/Systems Analysis Research from the Georgia Institute of Technology. After His second tour in Vietnam, he returned to Ft. Benning where he commanded the 29th Infantry Battalion, in the 197th Infantry Brigade. Attendance at the Armed Forces Staff College followed. He retired from the Army as Chief of Management at Forces Command, Ft. McPherson, Georgia. He settled in Atlanta with his wife, Heidi Hartmann, and daughter Kelly Jayne, while pursuing several fulfilling careers as an entrepreneur in several businesses and as an adjunct professor in higher education. He was dedicated to the Kiwanis Club, Builders Club, Special Olympics, and USO.

In 1981, he met Luanne Yeager by accident—an automobile accident. They were married one year later. They launched into the expatriate world, arriving in Cairo, Egypt, for over two years. Robert (Bob) was a consultant to an Atlanta Project Management Firm whose clients were five of the largest construction firms in Egypt. Together, they shared forty-three years of adventures.

Robert is preceded in death by his mother, Leitha Skillman, father, Harold Faulkender, wife, Heidi, stepmother, Jayne Hunt, and stepson, Kenneth Yeager. He is survived by his wife, Luanne, daughter, Kelly Stukes (Taylor), stepdaughter, Kelley Biskey, nephews, Jed and Lafe Skillman, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Services for Robert will be as follows:

Saturday, February 8, 2025, at 1:00 PM: Celebration of Life, Indian River Colony Club Chapel, Viera, Florida.

Monday, February 10, 2025, at 11:00 AM: Internment with full military honors at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, 5525 U.S. Highway 1, Mims, FL 32754.

Thursday, February 20, 2025 11:00 AM, Celebration of Life, Dunwoody Baptist Church, in The Samaritan Room, 1445 Mount Vernon Rd., Atlanta, GA 30338