Robert "Bob" was born in Detroit, Michigan to Robert L. & Florence B. Radford.  He was the third of three children, joining his older sisters Marian & Margaret.  Bob had a very happy childhood playing baseball at the nearby park, hockey at the outdoor rink, & enjoying other outdoor activities with the neighborhood kids. He could stay outside until the street lights came on & then knew it was time to go home.  He met many lifelong friends from that neighborhood.

Bob was on the '30/30/30 plan', as he always said.  The first 30 years he grew up & attended Parker Elementary School & Mackenzie High School, joined the U.S. Navy, & then attended Lawrence Tech and got his Engineering degree.  The second 30 years he met his future wife, Maggie, got married, got a job at Detroit Diesel (where he moved from the Engineering Dept. to the earliest incarnation of a Computer Programming Dept.), raised his three children, ushered at St. Raphael Catholic Church, played on both employer-sponsored & church-sponsored softball teams (until he was in his late 50's), Bowled in a league, & coached many of his kids' sports teams.  The third 30 years he retired early (at age 60), travelled a bit with Maggie, watched his children get married, welcomed several grandchildren, & now great-grandchildren. It was, in fact, a wonderful life!

Bob was a wonderful person who was loved by all.  He had a great sense of humor & was extremely handy.  He could fix just about anything, including cars, and was the family & neighborhood mechanic. He was always willing to lend a helping hand. He was known for his cigars & his love of popcorn and cheeseburgers!  In his later years he enjoyed puttering around the house & was always pretty much inseparable from Maggie.  People were amazed that after so many years together they still held hands.

He will be missed so much by his beloved wife of 60 years, Magdalen "Maggie", their three children and their spouses, Linda (Thomas) Shinsky, Donna (Charles) Collins, & Robert L. (Rebecca), and by his grandchildren Andrew (Shari), Natasha, Kelsey (Tyler) May, Robert W. II (Melanie), Mackenzie (Jacob) Bearden & his great-grandchildren Easton, Eliette, & Oakley. He will also be missed by his sister Margaret Cowdrey & many nieces, nephews, friends, & neighbors.

Visitation will be at the John N. Santeiu & Son Funeral Home in Garden City on Wednesday, August 16th from 2-8 pm, with a 7 pm Rosary Service.

Funeral Mass will be held at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church (formerly St. Raphael) in Garden City, in-state at 9:30 am & service at 10 am.