Robert A. Hargrave, 79, a lifelong resident of Dutchess County, died on Wednesday, May 19,2010 at Allie Dee Farm surrounded by loved ones.
Born on March 31, 1931 in Poughkeepsie, he was the son of the late Russell and Bertelle Smith Hargrave. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951-1955 as an Airman 1st Class.
He was married in 1956 to Renee Starrett who pre-deceased him in 2003.
He was employed as a Project Engineer at IBM, East Fishkill for 25 years until his retirement in 1985. In his retirement, he worked with Aristocrat Tours and traveled extensively.
Bob was a member of the IBM Quarter Century Club, the Hudson Valley Ski Club and the Dutchess County Pilot's Association, and in his early years he was a volunteer firefighter and drove the ambulance for the Arlington Fire Department.
Bob approached life with gusto and passion savoring every morsel of food especially on bike trips with deli stops; spent hours flying his Moonie and Champ especially with Jake his dog as co-pilot; and soaking up the sun in Boca Raton with many friends, the Golden Girls and the Boca pilots. He treasured his Ski Club friends, traveling companions locally and all over the world.
His lifelong desire to return to the simple farm life was finally realized when Bob and Jill established the Allie Dee Farm in LaGrangeville. Bob was the ever ready host to family, friends, local school children as well as any passerby who happened by. Always the innovator and constantly working on projects, Bob was continually thinking of improvements. Although thrifty, he was quick to share all he had - a wonderfully generous man with family and friends.
He would have preferred to forego his fifteen minutes of fame. Flying his plane en route to Florida in the fall of 2004, he accidentally wandered into a constantly changing no-fly zone while George Bush was campaigning for re-election below. He was escorted down by several fighter jets.
He will be missed by his sweetheart, Jill Flanigan and his family. He is survived by his daughters, Suzanne "Beth" Dykeman and her husband Robert of Wappingers and Carol Mitchell of Richmond, VA: his brother, Russell Hargrave of Poughkeepsie; 9 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. He is pre-deceased by his son Chris Hargrave, in 2007 and his sisters, Bertelle Mills and Dorothy Farris.
Many thanks to the devoted team of nurses and volunteers from Hospice of Dutchess County for assisting during one of life's hardest times with caring comfort.
Calling hours will be held on Friday from 4 to 6p.m. at the McHoul Funeral Home, Inc., 895 Route 82, Hopewell Junction. The funeral service will follow at 6:00p.m.
Memorial donations may be made to the Hospice Foundation, Inc., Violet Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 or Angel Flight Northeast, Lawrence Municipal Airport, 492 Sutton Street, North Andover, MA 01845