Robert Broom, Sr.

Robert was born on Tuesday, November 18, 1919, to Lela and Sidney Broom, in Newnansville (Alachua County), Florida. The youngest child of eleven siblings including: Lawson, Clarence, Burley, Geneva, Inez, Cora Lee, Lumisha, Pliney, Vera and Beulah.

Raised in Plant City, FL, Robert left home at around 17 years old (circa 1936) to work in one of President Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps, which created the Myakka River State Park in Sarasota, FL. He Moved to New York City in the 1940s and served in World War II from 1943 to 1946 , where he was a Staff Sergeant.

In the 1950s he was employed by the Federal Government's Office of Personnel Management as a Shipping Clerk in Bayonne, NJ. He married Rubye Hunt in 1960 in New York City, where they raised their only child, son, Robert, Jr. (born 1961).

Robert and Rubye retuned to Plant City to retire in 1979, where he became an active community member of the city's Improvement League and Local NAACP Chapter.

Survivors left to mourn his loss include his loving wife of 52 years, Rubye Broom; devoted son, Robert Broom, Jr. and his wife Maureen, two grandchildren Nicole F. Broom and Coleman W. Broom and a host of nieces and nephews and their descendants.

Robert will be deeply missed.