Robert Sutton Rainey

Robert was known as Rob or Robbie by his family and later in life he was known by his family and friends as Bob. He was a very friendly and contemplative person whose primary focus was taking care of his family. He loved his wife, Judy Coady Rainey, and spending time with family and particularly taking his children and grandchildren on nature hikes and to the movie theater. He knew all the names of the trees and he always espoused "live and let live" encouraging his children and grandchildren to enjoy nature but to leave it as they found it.

He also enjoyed astronomy and knew the names of the planets, stars and constellations. Bob was trained to play the trumpet and French horn in his high school orchestra and band. He also learned to play the piano and enjoyed spending time playing the piano throughout his life. He was diligent in doing research and he studied the markets and managed his own investment portfolio throughout his life. He was an advocate for saving money and investing wisely. He would say he had to do this so he could afford his wife. He enjoyed and was known for jesting with and pranking others.

He was the son of Franklin and Beatrice Rainey and also loved by his Aunt Helen Thompson and Uncle John Rainey who he spent much time with. He had three brothers, two (John and Fred) which were killed in their youth due to gun accidents and his younger brother, Richard, who he grew up with and maintained contact throughout his life. Bob was a Boy Scout and had an Ohio State Journal route which he worked to save money for college.

Bob attended Upper Arlington High School in Ohio and was active in track, cross country and swimming until his family moved to San Diego, California where he graduated from Herbert Hoover High School in 1953. He attended Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute and studied engineering. He also ran cross country in college and pledged Zeta Psi fraternity.

Bob worked as an engineer at the NASA Michoud facility in New Orleans, La. where the first stage (S-1C) booster of the Apollo moon rocket was being built and later adapted and used for the Saturn V rocket. He met his wife, Judith, there who was a clerk in the same facility. Bob was favored by Judy’s mother, Marie Heitler Jordan, and on February 9, 1964 Bob married Judy at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of New Orleans. They had three children Kimberlee, Scott and John who were all born in New Orleans. Bob and Judy were also blessed with three grandchildren Kieran, Taryn and Coady and two step-grandchildren Timmy and Kasey.

Eight years after Bob and Judy were married, they moved their family to Florence, Alabama where Bob worked with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as a manager and then Chief of the Industrial Hygiene Branch. He enjoyed this role as he could care for nature in his work - he was a proponent of hydroelectric energy and also worked to preserve the snail darter, an endangered fish in the region. All three children were swimmers and Bob supported them as a volunteer timer and meet director. He had loved fishing when he was young, and they built a home off the Tennessee River where he built a dock so he could fish and swim with his children and eventually his grandchildren. He continued to run on the TVA trails and was known as a runner by his colleagues. He and Judy formed a bridge club with friends and he enjoyed the dinners as well as the bridge playing. He loved Judy’s cooking, particularly her cajun cooking and he always said her red beans and rice were the best of all the Heitler family who were similarly enmeshed in New Orleans culture and cuisine. He spent his time reading, listening to classical music, watching movies, playing the piano and reading the Wall Street Journal and Morning Star reports. He also enjoyed theater, ballet, opera and orchestra concerts.

Bob loved travelling with Judy and his family. They took road trips all over the continental U.S. to visit family and along the way would visit national, state parks, and historic sites. When his grandchildren came along he and Judy would take them on their road trips. Bob and Judy travelled internationally too to Paris, London, Cayman Islands and after they moved to Florida they made trips to Tarpon Springs, Key West and St. Augustine.

Bob was an animal lover and some of his favorite pets included Smoky the cat, Antoinette the dog and their Shih Tzu Maltese, Darling who stayed by both Bob’s and Judy’s sides until they each passed away. He took Darling for walks in parks and on his shopping and dining outings, in her carrier.

In 2018 Bob had a heart attack at Kennedy Space Center when he was visiting with his granddaughters so he could share how he and their grandmother had helped to build the Saturn V rocket. He rode in the NASA ambulance to the hospital and had a defibrillator and pacemaker placed in his heart. His children took turns visiting him every weekend and he enjoyed going to Lulu’s and Caddy’s or having his son-in-law, Tim, grill or his daughter-in-law, Sueae, cook meatloaf or sweet potato casserole. Sueae got him hooked on Hallmark movies and he managed his own DVR library where he maintained his favorite Hallmark movies and the best classical movies that had Academy or Oscar award-winning actors. He had a stroke in September 2021 and a challenging recovery that caused him to go into a rehabilitation center in October, but he really wanted to be home. He returned home in January and his son Scott moved in to take care of him full time except when Kimberlee would come every two weeks so he could go to his home in Orlando. He became bedridden and transitioned to home hospice care at Easter. He died peacefully in his home with Kimberlee and Darling by his side.

Robert is preceded in death by his mother, Beatrice Houts Rainey; father, Franklin Thomas Rainey; and his wife, Judith Coady Rainey as well as his brothers John Rainey and Fred Rainey. We pray for the repose of their souls. He is survived by his children, Kimberlee, Scott and John; grandchildren, Kieran, Taryn, Coady; step-grandchildren, Timmy, Kasey; brother, Richard Rainey.

A celebration of life for Robert will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 18, 2022 at Blount & Curry Funeral Home at Garden of Memories, 4207 East Lake Avenue Tampa, Florida 33610. Interment to follow in Myrtle Hill Memorial Park, Tampa, Florida. The family will receive friends Saturday from 9 a.m. until service time at the funeral home.

The family would like to request in lieu of flowers that donations be made in memory of Robert S. Rainey to the preferred nonprofit of your choice:

Suncoast Hospice Foundation – the Purple Team from Suncoast provided care for both Robert and his wife Judy - Checks can be sent to the Foundation at 5771 Roosevelt Blvd, Clearwater, FL 33760 or online at https://suncoasthospicefoundation.org/

The Catholic Foundation of Central Florida where his daughter Kimberlee works – Checks can be sent to the Foundation at PO Box 4905, Orlando, FL 32802 or online at https://www.cfocf.org/RobertRainey

Other nonprofits he supported: Tampa Zoo at Lowry Park – Checks can be sent to the Zoo at 1101 Sligh Avenue, Tampa, FL 33604 or online at https://zootampa.org/support/donate-today/

St. Labre Indian School – Checks can be sent to St. Labre Indian School, Ashland MT 59004 or online at https://give.stlabre.org/page/87881/donate/1

Family and friends may also wish to support your own favorite national or state park in Robert’s memory as he was a fan of all of them.