Robert "Bob" Calton

Robert “Bob” Andrew Calton, Jr., age 67, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, died on January 13, 2022, at Lee’s Summit Medical Center of complications from diabetes.

A viewing service will be held at Longview Funeral Home on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. and a graveside service will follow at 11:00 a.m.

Memorial contributions can be made to the American Diabetes Association

Bob almost made it to his 68th birthday, which is on January 26. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri and grew up in a loving house that was always filled with children his mother babysat, many of which were kicked out of other daycares for being different. This is most likely where he developed his empathetic nature and love for those who just don’t quite fit in. He graduated from Ruskin High School in 1972 and he eagerly married his high school sweetheart, Janet Marie Newman, on August 10, 1972, and moved to Lee’s Summit. Two children followed, Michelle Renee and Christine Marie.

Bob worked at General Mills for 36 years where he started on the packing floor and worked up to electrician and then a controls engineer. He loved his coworkers and maintained many friendships after he retired at age 56. He filled his retirement days with travel with Janet, time with grandchildren and friends, and a plethora of hobbies.

Some of his favorite hobbies included guitar, Kung Fu, softball, racquetball, scuba diving, golf, trap shooting, and finally steel guitar. He taught Kung Fu in the basement of their house in the ‘80s. He took many vacations scuba diving in the ‘90s where he took rolls and rolls of underwater photos. He had a lifelong love of comedy and even tried stand up a time or two. Trap shooting took over his imagination when he was in his late 50s, and he joined a gun club and started teaching classes. Bob comes from a long line of music lovers and musicians, and he was in a band called The Music Regime when he was 12. He played Kenny Rogers songs on his acoustic guitar to his daughters when they were growing up. Later in life he took up steel guitar and joined the Ozark Steel Guitar Society. He enjoyed learning and relished the chance to teach others what he had learned.

Bob was a unique mixture of ornery and kind, and attracted many friends in his life, some friendships which lasted 55 years. Bob was the kind of guy who would drop everything to come help when needed. He loved his family, and his friends and people describe him as generous, funny, laid-back and compassionate.

Bob is survived by his wife of 49 years, Janet; daughters Michelle (Galen) Steele and Christie (Jerry) Campos; grandchildren Logan, Jacee, Jillian, Sadie, Lucas, Novella, Sophie, and Sage; one great grandchild, Jace; and one sister, Judy Ann Calton.