Robert Lewis Hanna

Robert (Bob) Hanna passed away on December 30, 2021, at his home in Austin, Texas, where his loving daughter, Diana Kirby, spent his last month caring for him. He was born Robert Lewis Hanna August 28th, 1940, to Leroy and Elizabeth Hanna in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He grew up on a farm and graduated from Glendale High School and held a Bachelor’s degree from Park College.

Bob proudly served in the United States Air Force for 20 years, from 1959 to 1979. He met his wife, Christa, while he was stationed at Hahn, AFB in Germany. With their daughter, they were stationed around the globe in Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, and throughout the United States. Bob was stationed without his family TDY for a year in Thailand during the Vietnam War and in Korea from 1976-1977.

Bob retired from the service in 1979 as a Master Sergeant, Communications Electronics Superintendent, at the end of his tour of duty at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin. From 1979-1996, he was the President of Austin Science Associates, a scientific instrumentation company, where he worked in systems engineering with governments and universities around the world. His third career was as an engineer for the Lower Colorado River Authority.

Bob married the love of his life, his wife, Christa Heinen. They were a team, facing life’s adventures and challenges side-by-side, through good times and time apart when Bob served his country in remote posts. Even when personal devices were the stuff of fiction, they recorded reel-to-reel taped messages of hope and love and mailed them around the world to hold each other close.

A tight-knit family, they camped in their VW pop-up camper all over Europe on vacations, swimming at the Lago Maggiore in Italy, hiking in the alps and walking along the Seine in Paris. Back in the U.S., they experienced everything from Pike’s Peak to Stone Mountain to the California Redwoods.

A doting dad, Bob instilled in his daughter a life-long sense of curiosity, a strong work ethic and his generosity of spirit. He taught her to dust herself off and try again when things got tough. And he was a source of unconditional support throughout her life.

Bob loved his grandchildren. He was a strong influence in his grandson Dustin’s life, helping take care of him often as a young boy and being a strong role model. He never missed Dustin’s soccer games and was so proud of the man and father he became. He enjoyed all of Kallie’s school events, from school plays to piano and guitar recitals. He was full of pride in all her accomplishments from her early years to becoming a strong young woman.

He took joy in the simple things in life, gardening, walking the dog, fishing, reading, building things, and whittling. He spent hours playing family card games, Trouble, and he spent several years in bowling leagues. There wasn’t anything Bob couldn’t build or fix. From cars, to clocks to a complete television from scratch, he loved a challenge.

Though he didn’t fly during his service in the Air Force, he fulfilled a lifelong dream, learning to fly and getting his pilot’s license after he retired.

Bob is survived by his loving daughter Diana Kirby and son-in-law Jeff Eller, 2 grandchildren whom he adored, Dustin Kirby and Kallie Eller, Dustin’s wonderful wife Jordan, and his adorable great grandson, Wyatt Kirby. He is also survived by his sisters, Lennelle Hays and Patty Paris and husband, Terry, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Christa, his parents Leroy and Elizabeth Hanna and his brothers-in-law J.R. Belt and Joe Hays.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Austin Pets Alive! (link below) in Robert's memory.