Robert Allen Applewhite

Robert “Bob” Allen Applewhite, age 86, passed away Sunday, June 19th after a brief illness. Bob was born in Berkeley, California in 1936 to a family whose roots began in San Antonio, Texas. The family moved to Douglas, Arizona in 1909, Phoenix in 1923, then to Berkeley before the start of WWII. The family finally made Phoenix their permanent home in 1946 where Bob’s father, Sam, started the Applewhite Family Mortgage Company. Bob attended Madison #1 grade school, and so did his four children, then North High School. He went to Stanford University where he met his forever match in love and wits, Sharon Wilson. At the date of his death they had been married for 64 years.

After graduating from Stanford, Bob went on to work for his father at the mortgage company, where he discovered his second career, his love of giving back to the community. He volunteered throughout his entire life, most notably with St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Initiative, the Phoenix Thunderbirds and the Phoenix Art Museum. Bob was instrumental in leading initiatives in the healthcare field and the arts that established Phoenix as a recognized leader in health-care management and charitable giving. His efforts in community financial leadership also spurred on the passage of the Arizona Tobacco Tax.

Wherever he volunteered, his leadership abilities were quickly noticed putting him in charge of driving forward so many initiatives that brought much needed charitable funding to so many worthy organizations. Bob also volunteered at All Saint's Episcopal Church, first as an usher, then as a member of the Vestry and lastly as a member of the Finance Committee. Bob’s other volunteer associations included the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, the Arizona Mortgage Bankers Association, the Arizona Mental Health Association, Toastmasters, and the Phoenix University Club.

As busy as he was working at the mortgage company then later in commercial real estate and being chairman of many boards, he had plenty of time to spend with his wife and four children. He also found time to play his favorite game, golf, which he was a short game mastermind. Being left-handed he played golf-right handed which made his ambidextrous abilities so amazing on the course. One of Bob’s most special moments was being Thunderbird Big Chief and Chairman of the Phoenix Open Golf Tournament. He loved meeting all the players and announcing their names on the first tee.

It was primarily through his love of volunteering, especially at the Phoenix Art Museum, that he met his closest friends. They had so many great times traveling, driving classic cars in the Copperstate 1,000 and Governor’s Cup Rally, making gourmet dinners, and of course playing golf at the Phoenix Country Club.

Bob was truly a family man, coming home everyday at 5:30 like clockwork to grab an appetizer and a martini and then play with his kids before dinner. He was so proud of his four children who have accomplished so much in their own lives. His eldest, Leigh Ann, a true horse whisperer is an accomplished equestrian having won the Arizona Grand Nationals in jumping, his son Keith, a born engineer (40+ years) who built model rockets and airplanes flying them around the property occasionally catching the grass on fire, Roger his third, for his entrepreneurial talents leading to many CEO jobs as well as earning his private pilots license, and lastly his youngest, Crista, who inherited his love of golf and managerial ability to lead diverse groups to accomplish anything.

Bob was an amazing man, husband and father, giving his all to anything that interested him. He loved maps, traveling by train, Arizona history, supporting great Arizona causes, Golf, and vacationing in San Diego every summer with the family which sometimes meant bringing a horse or two along. Bob is survived by his wife Sharon, children Leigh Ann, Keith, Roger and Crista, 10 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. He will be truly missed by his family and friends. A celebration of life is planned for the fall at the Phoenix Country Club where friends can come and share stories about Bob Applewhite. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Phoenix Thunderbird Charities (602) 870-0163 or the Phoenix Art Museum (602) 257-1880, 1625 North Central Ave Phoenix, AZ 85004.