Mr. Robert McCloud

Robert James McCloud, age 91, of Overland Park, Kansas, passed away on Wednesday, August 20, 2014, at his home, surrounded by his wife and family. Robert “Bob” McCloud was born on November 28, 1922 in Ponca City, Oklahoma to James A. McCloud, Jr., and Lou Ella (DeAtley) McCloud.  When he was six years old, his parents moved back to Mercer County, Missouri, where he lived until graduating from Princeton High School in 1940.  After graduation, he worked for a short period of time for the Civilian Conservation Corps in several Missouri state parks.  Looking for more opportunity, Bob left Missouri with his best friend, Russell Hobbs, for Washington state, where he and Russell worked in the apple orchards and in several logging mills.  After Russell returned to Missouri, Bob went to Los Angeles where he worked in a steel mill and lived with his Aunts, Lee and Gertrude.  Bob was then drafted into WWII.  He was allowed to report to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri so that he could visit with his mother before reporting to boot camp.  In the Army, he was stationed in the Philippines, where he was part of a survey crew that mapped out substantial portions of the jungle for military use.  After the war he returned to Los Angeles and worked for the County Highway Department.  In 1947, he was hired by Black & Veatch Consulting Engineers to work at the government facility in Los Alamos, New Mexico, also known as the “Manhattan Project.”  During his first weekend on the job, he met the love of his life, Beatrice (“Bea”) Robinson, who was also working for the Manhattan Project as a secretary.  They were married a short time later on December 23, 1947.  Oldest daughter Susan was born in 1948 and daughter Carol was born in 1951.  In 1951, Bob, Bea and daughters Sue and Carol moved to Columbia, Missouri, where Bob attended the University of Missouri, graduating in 1954 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering.  He was a member of the Tau Beta Pi, Chi Epsilon, and Pi Mu Epsilon honorary societies.  After graduating from his beloved M.U., the family, with another daughter, Patricia (born 1952), in tow, moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where Bob began working for the Phillips Petroleum Company.  Their fourth daughter, Barbara, was born there in 1956.  In 1957, Bob was transferred to Odessa, Texas.  In September of 1957, Bob was again hired by Black & Veatch, moving back to the Kansas City area.  As a Civil Engineer, he designed water and sewer treatment facilities around the world.  In 1967, he obtained his M.S. in Environmental Health Engineering from the University of Kansas-Lawrence.  Bob became a General Partner at Black & Veatch in 1977 and an Executive Partner in 1982.  Before his retirement from Black & Veatch in 1988, Bob was a registered professional engineer in more than a dozen states and managed and supervised hundreds of employees and projects throughout the U.S., Costa Rica, England, the Middle East and elsewhere around the globe.  After his retirement, Bob and Bea traveled extensively, often on golf trips to England and Scotland.  They enjoyed spending time at their cabin in Colorado.  They often spent winters in Southern California or Tucson, Arizona.  After their daughter Barbara returned to Phoenix, Arizona in 2003, they spent their winters with her, escaping the cold and the snow.  Bob loved to hunt and spent time in Colorado and Wyoming, hunting deer, elk and antelope.  His love of pheasant and quail took him to western Kansas.  Duck and goose hunting resulted in a partnership with a handful of other devotees in a private duck club in north central Missouri.  During hunting season, Bea spent many more hours on the golf course.  His success as a marksman was proudly evidenced in their home with antlers, ducks and geese, taking up considerable wall space.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, sister, Alma Belle, nephew Glenwood (Karen) and many of his former B&V and M.U. colleagues and friends, golfing buddies and Pin Oaks partners.

Bob is survived by his true love and wife, Bea, daughters Sue (Vince), Carol (Ron), Pat (Wes), and Barb; grandchildren Christina (Christopher), Leighann, Michael, Daniel, Robert (Alicia), and Matthew; great grandchildren Quinn and Keegan; niece Betty Mae (Ron), cousin Julia (Guy), grandnephew Cheston (Mary), great grand niece Stella.

A memorial service will be held at the Johnson County Funeral Chapel on Saturday, August 30, at 1:00 p.m., at 11200 Metcalf Avenue, Overland Park, Kansas 66210.  The family will greet friends an hour prior to the service at the same location.  Memorial contributions may be made in honor of Robert J. McCloud, to the University of Missouri-Columbia, College of Engineering, or to Ducks Unlimited.

---