Colonel Robert Edward McCleave, Jr., USA, Retired

Robert McCleave is fondly remembered as a caring, considerate, and brilliant man. He was born in Philadelphia, PA on December 30, 1934. He attended the University of Pennsylvania earning a B.A. in History and the University of Tennessee earning an M.S. in Transportation. He met his loving wife Patricia in Philadelphia and they married in 1957, sharing 55 years together travelling the world for both work and pleasure. They have two daughters, Pamela and Leslie.

Bob joined ROTC while at the University of Pennsylvania and was a proud transportation officer in the U.S. Army for 27 years. He retired as a full Colonel and received many commendations during his military career including the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Legion of Merit and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm. He was assigned to CINCPAC in Hawaii, the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon and was on the faculty of the National Defense University. He went on to a second career as an Acquisition Analyst with Advanced Technologies/Litton/PRC from which he retired in 2001.

Bob fell in love with Hawaii when he first came to Honolulu with Pat on R&R in 1966. Following his retirement from his second career he and Pat divided their time between Honolulu and Reston, VA. He was a passionate reader and scholar and loved history, art, classical music, opera, sailing, and world travel. His bravery in the face of a long illness was inspiring to all who knew him and he will be deeply missed by his family and many friends. In addition to Pat, Pamela and Leslie, he is survived by his loving sister Anna McCleave Hails, and many devoted nieces and nephews. A small family service was held at Maunakea Chapel in Honolulu on July 11th and a memorial service will be held December 3rd at the Old Post Chapel at Fort Myer, followed by interment at Arlington National Cemetery. Details are below. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Bob's memory to the Army Transportation Museum Fund, P.O. Box Draw D, Fort Eustis, VA 23604; or the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, www.pdf.org.

Col. Robert E. McCleave, Jr, USA, Retired will be laid to rest with full military honors on Monday, the 3rd of December, 2012 at Arlington National Cemetery. The service, conducted by Father David Fulton,will held in the Old Post Chapel at Fort Myer at 1pm with burial to follow. A reception hosted by the McCleave family will begin at 2:30pm in the Skylight Room of the Spates Community Club at Fort Myer.

All are welcome. Any questions please contact Pamela McCleave at [email protected].