June 12 1927 October 17 2022
Robert Harvey Mckay Jr. (Bob), 95, passed away Oct 17, 2022, in the loving arms of his family. He was born in the US Territory of Alaska, in Cordova on June 12, 1927. He is preceded in death by his parents Orpha Vivian Ellis and Robert Harvey (Pitts) Mckay Sr., his wife of 22 years, Anne Winifred Walker, and his sister Bette June Rielly. He is survived by his loving children Karen Fothergill, Jon and Kevin McKay and their families. Bob was also dearly loved by his step sons Geoff and Tim Walker, niece Cara Rauschl, nephews, Ben and Dan Rielly, and all of their families. Bob was a lifelong learner. His curiosity led him to scouting, photography and to travel around the world. He loved to hike and fish, especially in the mountains of Washington and Alaska. He had a sense of fun which showed up in many ways, most of all in his love of playing poker. He really loved his poker buddies. Bob graduated from Bremerton High School in 1945. His undergraduate studies were completed at the University of Washington and Oregon State University. Bob then graduated from UC Berkeley, with a PhD in Biochemistry in 1957. He completed his postdoctoral work at Harvard and Brandeis Universities. He married Monica McTigue in 1958, they had 3 children. The family moved to Hawaii in 1963, where Bob became a professor at the University of Hawaii. During his 34-year tenure at UH he did research in Hematology which led to greater understanding of iron metabolism in humans. Bob was President and Founder of the Shhh Hawaii Charter Chapter of Ohana Kokua, A Helping Hand for the Hearing Impaired. He helped many hard of hearing folks in Hawaii. When he married Anne in 1998, they spent many happy years traveling all over the world. Bob and Anne were great supporters of PBS in Hawaii. Bob was also a great supporter of the University of Washington. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to PBS Hawaii. (www.pbshawaii.org/donate/)
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Robert Harvey McKay Jr June 12 1927 October 17 2022.
Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary
Death notice for the town of: Kaneohe, state: Hawaii