Obituary: Robert Stephen Haley

Robert Stephen "Bob" Haley was born in Massena, N.Y. Oct. 24, 1923. He was the oldest of five children born to Stephen and Katherine Haley. After graduating from high school in Massena, Bob earned an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. in 1942. Upon graduation from the academy in 1946, he served as a line officer, executive officer, navigator, gunnery officer and communications officer on destroyers and a number of other smaller ships. From 1949 through 1958 he served as an officer in the supply corps in various locations including Kodiak, Alaska, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, Seattle and Bremerton Wash. From 1955 through 1958 he was the administrative officer and Instructor at the Naval School of Transportation and Traffic Management in Oakland, Calif. In 1958 and 1959, he served as the Supply Officer aboard the USS Princeton, an Essex Class aircraft carrier. From 1960 through 1961, Bob attended George Washington University in Washington D.C., graduating with an MBA before being posted at Main Navy Headquarters where he served in various positions before retiring at the rank of Commander with 23 years of service on July 1, 1965.

Bob remembered the area around Lake Tahoe, Carson City and Reno fondly from vacations he took to that area when he was stationed in Oakland, Calif. so when he retired from the Navy at the age of 42 that is where he headed seeking a new career and a new life for his young family. He wanted his sons to grow up in a small town where the air and water was clean and clear, and where his sons could find numerous outdoor recreational activities in the nearby mountains and wide open deserts of the western Unite States. He landed a job with the State of Nevada as the Coordinator of the Nevada Industrial Commission (now known as the State Industrial Insurance System or SIIS). He worked at that position for 17 years before retiring for a second time in 1983.

Bob always loved the outdoors, so his retirement years were spent hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, golfing, playing tennis, and traveling. Destinations included Costa Rica, Canada, Mexico and Alaska. He rode his bike up Spooner Summit to Lake Tahoe on his 60th birthday, and was a bit of a fitness nut before exercise became somewhat of a fad. In the early 1960s he used to ride his 3-speed bike approximately 10 miles to work through rush hour traffic from Arlington, Va. to Naval Headquarters in Downtown Washington D.C. He loved dogs, almost always owned at least one, and was particularly enamored of the dogs he shared his retirement.

Bob passed March 24, 2010 at the age of 86 and is survived by his two sons and their wives Stephen and Ross, Dana and Jennifer and two grandsons Spencer and Zac. He is also survived by two of his siblings, his sister Mary, of Omaha, Neb. and his brother Pat of Rochester N.Y. He will be sorely missed.

A memorial service to remember and celebrate Bob's life will be 3 p.m., Monday, March 29, 2010 at FitzHenry's Funeral Home, 3945 Fairview Dr., Carson City. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the Servants of Mary, c/o Sister Mary Alice Haley, 7400 Military Ave., Omaha, NE 68134.