Robert Wayne Brunton

Robert Wayne Brunton (“Rob” “Bob”) was born January 11, 1935 in Cambridge, Kansas to Beecher and Suzie Brunton. He was the 10th of 11 children and the last to pass on April 7, 2022. He met his wife Peggy in 1960 and they were married on February 23, 1962, celebrating 60 years this past February. They have two children, Sandra Schremmer (Doug) and Lanny Brunton and three grandchildren, Alex Schremmer, Rachael Eaves (Drew) and Kortland Brunton.

Robert grew up in Cambridge where he learned to fish, hunt, play basketball and baseball following his five older brothers, Frank, Paul, Will, Herb and Beech, sister Ruth, and family friend Barney Lundy. When he was 12-years-old, and in 7th grade, he pitched for the Cambridge High School baseball team. They went on to win the league championship that year. Not long after the league championship, he came down with a severe case of rhematic fever that almost took his life. When he recovered, he played for the Cambridge town team, which held games every Friday night in Winfield, Kansas.

He graduated Cambridge High School in 1953, and then attended Southwestern college from 1953 to 1954. In 1954 he signed to pitch for the St Louis Cardinals minor league team. In 1956 he signed with the Baltimore Orioles farm team. He hurt his pitching arm in the 1956 season and returned to home to recover. He began working at Cessna Aircraft Company in 1956 in the parts warehouse. His main duty was to pitch for the Cessna Bobcats victory league team.

In 1957 he was drafted by the Army where he was trained as a tank driver. He became the Jeep driver for the 1st Calvary company commander in South Korea. He was in South Korea over a year, and while he was there, he played baseball for the Army team, where he was named to the All-Army team.

He was discharged early with an honorable discharge in 1959, and he resumed work at Cessna. He rejoined the Cessna baseball team in the victory league at Lawrence Dumont stadium and played several more years with other Wichita semi-pro teams, traveling all over the United States. He was very proud of his time with the Wichita Dreamliner’s where they won a National Baseball Congress tournament at Lawrence Dumont Stadium.

In 1964, Rob joined the Cessna flying Club. He did his first solo flight on June 20,1964. He and his wife Peggy flew all over the United States to visit family and friends. He always said that his ability to fly helped him advance his career with Cessna.

Rob enjoyed a 33 year career with Cessna. He held various positions in the company but most of his time was devoted to spares support and aftermarket functions, and he was heavily involved in developing the early support functions for the Citation models. His work took him all over the world, including Germany, England, France, and Brazil. He retired in 1990 from his position as the Manager of Citation Spares Support at 55 years of age. In retirement, he went to work for Aeromach labs and B&S aircraft as a parts procurer, working for his close friends Donnie Bolain, and Ed Bolain.

Rob found a passion for golf at the late age of 51. After retirement he worked at Tex Consoliver golf course as a starter. He helped with the Junior Golf program and showed many young people how to play, including all three of his grandchildren. He loved watching his grandchildren play golf in high school and hearing any story about a good golf round. Rob played a lot of golf, traveling with friends all over the US, which provided some great stories and memories. Through his life experience he met many people and had the ability to recognize and remember them decades later. He ran into someone he knew, everywhere he went, including in Europe.

He loved to visit his hometown of Cambridge and hunt and fish. He would tell you that the only thing better than catching a big fish was eating them. He would eat fish three times a day if he was able. As a potential new in-law, if you visited him and had meal at the house, you were strongly encouraged to try his fish because there was nothing better. He loved having big family fish fry’s, and he loved to gather with friends and family to visit. Rob told epic stories and he loved to hear a good story. An avid watcher of sports, he took great pleasure in watching his beloved Jayhawks win the national championship on April 4, 2022. He also loved the St. Louis Cardinals, and never missed a game. He was loved by so many and will be greatly missed.

A memorial service for Robert will be held Wednesday, May 11, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. at Resthaven Mortuary, 11800 West Highway 54, Wichita, KS 67209.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ResthavenMortuary-Cemetery.com for the Brunton family.