Obituary of General Robert Whitman Bazley

Robert "Bob" Whitman Bazley, retired four-star general, USAF, died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Sunday, December 16, 2012, lovingly attended by his wife, Sandra Vander Clute Bazley, and her son, Jeffrey Vander Clute. General Bazley was born December 5, 1925 to Halsey Rapson Bazley and Ruby Lounsbury Bazley in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father had been one of the country's early aviators, a pilot during WWI, and a barnstormer after the war. He taught Bob and his older brother, Dick, to fly a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" before Bob was ten years old. Thus was born a passion for flight that lasted throughout his life. Bob married his high-school sweetheart, Dolores Belin, on September 6, 1947. Together they had four children: Sherry, Barbara, William, and Thomas. The family lived in Germany and England as well as various states in the U.S., uprooting many times. Bob and Delores moved 35 times in 43 years with the Air Force. Bob's distinguished work history had its beginnings in a Pittsburgh steel mill. There, in his early twenties, he was singled out for leadership, in part because of his deep love for human beings and his charismatic personality. Later, as a young married man with family responsibilities, he worked for a while as a shoe salesman, as a bartender, and for American LaFrance selling fire engines. Though he showed a talent for business, Bob was deeply dissatisfied with these occupations, and in 1951, when he was recalled to the Korean War, he chose to stay in the Air Force and make that his career. There, he received training as a fighter pilot. Among the medals, certificates, and letters of appreciation for service that adorn the walls of Bob's self-proclaimed "I-Love-Me Room," his admitted "favorite" was the Order of the Sword, an honor given to officers by non-commissioned officers. The award is a three-foot-long sword, hanging bright and sharp in a wooden box on the wall. Wordless, it speaks for itself and for the man to whom it was given. Bob's spirit, his values of honesty, integrity, and service to mankind, and his life-long expression of individual freedom live on through his daughters, Sherry and Barbara; his sister, Phyllis Happel; and his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was greatly loved and is sorely missed by them, his wife Sandra, and their many close friends. We celebrate him. Online condolences may be sent to walkersfuneralservice.com