Robert E. Hatcliff

Born in 1922 on the family farm in Crete, Nebraska, he was the oldest of three sons born to Griffen and Zetta Hatcliff. Robert graduated from Crete High School in 1940. He joined the Army-Air Corps in 1944 at the start of WWII, serving as a B-17 tail gunner stationed in England. After returning from the war, he studied Agriculture at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He married in 1947, then re-enlisted in the Air Force and made it his career, serving for 32 years, which included assignments in Japan, Newfoundland, Puerto Rico and several Air Force bases in California, Alabama and Tennessee, as well as a yearlong deployment to Da Nang Air Base, Viet Nam. After retiring as a Lt. Col. in 1976, he settled in Lubbock, Texas and worked for the State of Texas for five years.

Robert “Bob” Hatcliff was most proud of his humble beginnings as a depression-era farm family, his honorable and meritorious career in the United States Air Force and his children.

Robert is survived by his wife of 28 years, Janice; his three children, Patricia L. LeClaire of Rock Hill, SC; Roberta J. Nyffeler of Orlando, FL and William G. Hatcliff of Jackson, MS, their spouses and seven grandchildren, as well as his youngest brother, Richard Hatcliff of Cottonwood, AZ. In addition, his three stepdaughters Teresa Cain of Lubbock, TX, Stacey Cruz of San Antonio, TX, and Randi Arrellano of San Antonio TX, and their nine children survive him.

The family will host a visitation on Thursday, September 9 from 6:00-8:00 PM at Resthaven Funeral Home, 5740 19th Street, Lubbock, TX. A funeral service and burial to include full Military Honors will take place at 1:00 PM on Friday, September 10 at Resthaven Funeral Home and Cemetery.