Robert Burnett Spilman

Robert “Bob” Spilman (97) passed away quietly in his sleep Sunday morning, June 5th at his home in the Azalea Trace Retirement Community in Pensacola, Florida. Bob was born on February 19th, 1919 to Dr. Harold Augustus and Myra Spilman in Ottumwa, Iowa, where he was raised until graduating high school to attend Northwestern University. After an initial year at Northwestern, he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated with the Class of 1942 and received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Over a 30-year career as an Infantry Officer, he served in the post-war occupation of Japan, and commanded infantry and air mobile combat units in the Korean War and Vietnam Conflict during which he was awarded commendations including the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit and two Bronze Stars. His military career also included assignments as a secretary to the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Cuban Missile Crisis, on the faculty of the US Army War College and as the commandant of the US Army Management School, with additional commendations including a second Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Joint Chief’s Meritorious Service Award. Following retirement from the Army in 1972 Bob attended the University of Texas to pursue a Ph.D. in Computer Management and Information Systems and subsequently undertook a second, 20-year civil service career with the Naval Education and Training Command in Pensacola, Florida, where he also joined and became a devoted member of the Rotary Club International including service as President for the Pensacola Suburban West Rotary Club and later as District Governor for Northwest Florida. Bob met his wife Priscilla Jeanne Hensley (of Ft. Worth, Texas) in Hokkaido, Japan where they were married on Christmas Eve in 1947. Together they raised a family of four children through a loving caravan of 41 successive households in North Carolina, Texas, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Oslo, Norway. They remained devoted to one another throughout their marriage of 65 years until Priscilla’s passing in 2012. Bob is survived by a large and loving family including his four children, Doug Spilman, Shari Hanssen, Kim Rodriguez and Derek Spilman, together with their spouses, seven grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and their many relatives and close friends grateful to count themselves among his extended family. As he joins his beloved Priscilla, he will be deeply missed and joyfully celebrated by all of those whose lives have been so immeasurably enriched by his boundless love and kindness, his selfless leadership, his abundant generosity of spirit and his irrepressible and mischievous good humor. The family has made arrangements with FAITH CHAPEL FUNERAL HOME. Those wishing to express their condolences are invited to do so online at their website [www.fcfhs.com]. Those wishing to offer material condolences are asked to do so in the form of charitable contributions to Rotary International in lieu of flowers or gifts [https://www.rotary.org/en/give]. Memorial Services will be scheduled by the family for a future date at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.

Tributes

Robert Burnett Spilman

February 19, 1919 - June 5, 2016