Nick and Pat Burlone, of Riverside, know “Even though Bob has gone on to a better Coffee Club location, we will always see him in his designated seat at the Danville McDonald’s.”
Robert E. West Sr., of Danville, died Sept. 21 from cancer. He was diagnosed with cancer in October 2003, three months after retiring from Merck, where he had worked for 29 years.
Robert never drank a cup of coffee, but one of his favorite pastimes after retirement was going to the Danville McDonald’s, where the guys would discuss all of the world’s problems.
Throughout Robert’s illness, his smile, sense of humor and expressions were priceless and many times left the Coffee Club gang speechless.
“My son taught me to be a good mother,” said Pearl Ashton, of Danville. “He worked real hard for what he had, was lovable, kind-hearted and loved working on cars — taking them apart and putting them back together.”
On Nov. 26, 1983, Robert married the former Judi Bower-Davis.
During his eulogy, daughter Lori Shultz, of Danville, said, “Dad loved his pistachios, nougat candies with Christmas tree centers and restoring cars.”
Sons Joe West, of Berwick, and Robert West Jr., of Danville, recalled “the many, many hours of hands-on experience with Dad as we built, rebuilt and played in the garage.”
Daughter Wendy Smeal, of Danville, said: “Dad became affectionately known as ‘Clyde’ with his stepchildren and friends. This all began when he visited me at college. Hearing a commotion, I looked out to see him with a jar of peanut butter in one hand and a bunch of bananas in the other doing a gorilla-style walk complete with sound. This was around the time the movie ‘Every Which Way But Loose’ was showing with ‘Clyde’ the orangutan. The name seemed fitting, and it stuck.”
Dick McWilliams, of Danville, was friends with Robert for more than 40 years. “We’d talk cars and such — no matter what we started to talk about, it always came around to cars and racing,” he said. “Most of us have brains, but Robert had gears in there.”
Robert, a 1960 Danville High School graduate, was a Jeff Gordon fan and enjoyed going out to eat at the Sunbury Social Club. He liked camping in Winfield, taking his pontoon boat out, cutting it loose and drifting down the river.
In addition to his mother, wife and children, Robert is survived by two sisters, Florence Mae Dietterick, of Danville, and Sherry Jane Cragle, of Sunbury, and nine grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his father, Joseph West, and his stepfather, James Ashton, both of Danville.
News
Related Photos
-
Photo provided
Discussion
Coffee Club mates haven't forgotten retiree
- News
-
-
Pen pals become BFFs
NORTHUMBERLAND — More than 40 Valley first-grade students may have found their “best friends forever” on Monday, thanks to a mother-daughter teaching combination.
-
2 of 134 fail Midd-West drug tests
MIDDLEBURG —The Midd-West School District has spent $1,500 this year to conduct drug tests on 134 students as part of a new policy that requires students in extracurricular activities to agree to random testing.
-
Four earn EMS Providers of the Year awards
DANVILLE — More than 50 emergency medical services workers and first responders, including fire and police department personnel, joined together Monday to honor four of their own — winners of the EMS Providers of the Year awards.
-
Police: Boy playing with lighter destroyed barn
PAXINOS — An 8-year-old boy playing with a lighter caused a fire that destroyed a barn Saturday evening along Route 890, state police reported Monday.
-
Fate of Dalmatia, Leck Kill schools to be discussed
MANDATA — After years of back-and-forth discussion by the Line Mountain school board, a community discussion on the fates of the Dalmatia and Leck Kill elementary schools will be held tonight after the board’s regularly scheduled meeting.
-
Police: Ford F-150 pickup truck stolen in Watsontown
WATSONTOWN — Borough police said a Ford F-150 pickup truck was stolen over the weekend.
The truck was parked along East Sixth Street and was last seen Saturday afternoon. Its absence was noticed Sunday afternoon. -
Nursing home exec gets house arrest
MIDDLEBURG — A former Selinsgrove personal care home administrator will spend 23 months on intermediate punishment for pleading no contest to stealing money from an elderly resident.
-
YMCA summer lunch program aids hungry kids
MILTON — More than 8,000 Valley children receive free lunches at school because their families’ household incomes are below 130 percent of the federal poverty level. Come summer, the vast majority of them do not have access to free nutritional meals or do not take advantage of the federal program intended to fill that gap.
-
Tons of pot found floating off Southern California
DANA POINT, Calif. — Authorities say three and a half tons of marijuana have been found floating in the ocean off Southern California.
-
Man becomes third person to survive plunge at Niagara Falls
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A man plunged at least 180 feet over Niagara Falls and survived — only the third person known to have gone over without a safety device and live.
-
Facebook shares plunge today on the stock market
NEW YORK — Facebook Inc. shares plunged on their second day on the stock market today, a black eye for all those involved with the social networking company going public.
The shares fell 13.7% early today to well below the $38 price for the initial public offering, before pulling off the low. -
Take Me Home: Daryll
Daryll is a 45 pound, 6-month-old happy, happy Yellow Lab pup. He loves everyone and everything. Some of his favorites are: playing with the other dogs in his foster home, trying to get the cat to play with him too, car rides, walks, playing in the rain, toys, human laps to sit on, and learning new tricks. He is a fun active dog, who is eager to learn and please, and has a great love of life attitude.
- More News Headlines
-
