Roll Call Tribute

Robert Emmett "Bob" Dillon 

October 29, 1927 - June 9, 2024 

Robert Emmett Dillon, engineer, raconteur, and semi-professional Texan, passed away in Kansas City on June 9, 2024, at the age of 96.

Bob was born in Tyler, Texas on October 29, 1927 to John M. Dillon and Margaret Niland Dillon. His wife of 62 years, Edna Stobing Dillon, who smoked cigars and gave him redheaded children, died in 2016. The redheads, Robert and Thomas, their wives, Barbara and Anne, 8 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren, survive him, as do several unrelated folks in his extended family, all of whom referred to him as "Grandfather".

Bob attended the Texas College of Arts & Industries, during an era when colleges didn't feel pressured to call themselves Universities, and had cool, non-corporate names. He graduated in 1951 with a degree in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, a discipline one can Google now, but which, back in the day, was kind of a Texas thing. He pursued work in a mystical place he referred to as the "Oil Patch", working pipelines in the deserts of New Mexico, the swamps of Louisiana, and the brush of Freer, TX. He concluded his career at Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Co, who assigned him to the Kansas City office for the last few years of his tenure. While his oil patch stories were naturally Texas-centric, Bob loved Kansas City, attending the Opera and Symphony regularly and working with several civic organizations.

For his big retirement project, Bob volunteered to teach English overseas. The organization sent him to an Aluminum Factory in Slovakia (then part of "Czechoslovakia" - how the world has changed), where management assigned him to teach the Engineering team. Kismet. He had the time of his life and stayed in touch with several of the students for decades. Bob was also a long-time member of the BPOE (Elks), who his grandchildren referred to as "Best Pancakes on Earth". He was particularly involved and devoted to their scholarship program for Kansas City high school students.

The best project of all, however, was his support for our families and our children. We can't count the opportunities we might have missed had Grandfather not been there to chauffeur, schlep, counsel, host, visit, and otherwise keep our families pointed in the right direction.

In lieu of flowers, we encourage you to donate to Kansas City, MO Hospice. We're very grateful for the kind, respectful care they brought to Bob at the end.

Bob's Memorial Service is on Friday, October 25, 10 a.m., at Visitation Catholic Church.