Robert Darryl Gaines

Robert D. Gaines, 59, of Southwest Kansas City, an attorney, died Thursday, July 22, 2010. Services will be 1 p.m. Monday, July 26, at the Mount Moriah and Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City. Burial will be in Mount Moriah Cemetery. Friends may call from 4-7 p.m. Sunday, July 25, at the chapel. The family suggests contributions to Angel Flight, Inc., 1515 E. 71st Street, Suite 312, Tulsa, OK 74136. Bob was born on May 27, 1951 in Kansas City, the son of Ralph and Betty Gaines, and attended public schools in Prairie Village, KS, and Phoenix, AZ. Bob graduated with a degree in Economics from the University of Arizona in Tucson (1972), a Master's of Business Administration from Michigan State University in East Lansing (1973), and a Juris Doctorate with honors from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Law (1983). During law school, Bob served as the business editor of the UMKC Law Review and on the staff of the Urban Lawyer, and was a member of the Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity. He and his future wife, Shanette Kirch, met while working at Bob’s family restaurant, the Colony Steakhouse and Lobster Pot. They were married in 1977. Bob became an excellent restaurateur and with his mother, Betty, and sister, Karen, the family successfully operated the restaurant for nearly twenty years at four different Kansas City locations. The restaurant’s most famous and long-lasting location was at Kansas City’s Union Station. After closing the restaurant seven years ago, Bob began practicing law full time – which was a passion and a calling for him. He was a partner with the law firm of Krigel & Krigel, PC, in Kansas City and handled commercial litigation, personal injury, leasing and real estate matters, property and business insurance claims, business formations, valuations and projections, and bankruptcy litigation. Bob appeared before the Federal District Court of Missouri and Kansas and the Kansas Board of Healing Arts, and was a member of the Missouri Bar Association; Arizona Bar Association; Kansas Bar Association; Kansas City Bar Association, and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s legal panel. He was admitted to practice before the United States District Court and Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri, and was listed in Who's Who in the Midwest. Bob’s clients included Heartland Educational Institute, Vantage Investment, LLC, Bo Lings Chinese Restaurants, the Restaurant Guide of Kansas City, and dozens of restaurants throughout the Kansas City area. Bob took great pride and satisfaction in helping people; on many occasions assisting the disenfranchised. He was a dedicated professional who was always fair and honest in the handling of his cases and clients. Bob was an avid flight enthusiast, a licensed pilot, and the proud owner of a 1962 single engine Mooney aircraft. He loved to cook, he spoke Spanish fluently, and loved to travel with his wife, family and friends – ultimately visiting five continents. He enjoyed hiking and traversed the Grand Canyon as many as thirty times. He also enjoyed snow skiing, racquetball, scuba diving and biking, and he loved to read – especially history. His memberships included the Missouri Restaurant Association and the YMCA. The dominant feature of Bob’s personality was his almost child-like enthusiasm for life, and his acceptance and non-judgmental approach to people and the problems of the everyday world. His joy was infectious, and he was a genuine “gentleman,” in the truest sense of the word. He was a bright soul who will be deeply missed by his family, his colleagues, and his numerous friends.

Survivors include his beloved wife of thirty-four years, Shanette Kirch of the home; his beloved daughter, Ariel Kirch Gaines of Chicago, IL; his step-son, Joseph Charles Glanville, III, and his step-granddaughter Jordan Glanville, of Lenexa, KS; his mother, Betty Gaines of Kansas City; his sister and brother-in-law, Karen Gaines and Keith Richcreek, and his beloved nephew, Brandon Gaines-Richcreek, of Kansas City. Arrangements under the direction of Mount Moriah & Freeman Funeral Home, Kansas City, MO.