Robert Park Dawson

Robert Park Dawson (“Bob”) passed away peacefully at his home in Newport Beach at the age of 94 on August 26, 2023. After a brief stay at Hoag Hospital, Bob returned home and was surrounded by his loving family members: his wife, Patricia, and children, Steven J. Dawson, and Linda Dawson Elkman. His beloved son, Greg S. Dawson, predeceased him in 2010.

Bob was a third-generation Californian, born August 4, 1929 in San Francisco to Richard S. and Frances (Park) Dawson of Berkeley, California. At the age of ten, Bob and his younger brother, Richard, moved to Texas and then to Louisiana due to his stepfather’s work in the oil industry. Bob attended Abbeville High School in Louisiana from 1943-47 and was a standout student, most notably in mathematics, and he excelled in sports, especially diving, track, and basketball. Bob attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge majoring in mechanical engineering. On campus, he met Patricia Percy (“Pat”), who became the love of his life, his wife of 71+ years and his best friend. In 1951, Bob went to California to earn a master’s degree in Aeronautics at Caltech. In June of 1952, he returned to Biloxi, Mississippi for his wedding to Pat. The newlyweds then settled in Westwood, California as Bob accepted a job with Douglas Aircraft (which became McDonnell Douglas).

Due to Bob’s vibrant personality and exceptional talents, Bob had an illustrious 40-year career during the “Race to the Moon” and the Golden Age of space exploration. In addition to designing jet fighter planes and working in solar, some of Bob’s aerospace projects included designing launch systems for the Delta rocket, the manned space endeavors for the Apollo’s Saturn S-IVB program, NASA’s Space Shuttle solid rocket motor program, integrated payload & mission planning, and designing orbital transfer vehicles. Upon his retirement, McDonnell Douglas stated that “Robert Dawson was one of the major contributors to most of the product lines of MDSSC.” They did not plan to let him go. He continued as a consultant for McDonnell Douglas and Boeing for another five years.

Bob was a totally dedicated family man; his priority was spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren. He derived great pleasure in the home he and Pat built and lived in for 60 years in Newport Beach. He loved the area’s back bay for daily runs and bike rides, and Big Corona beach for bodysurfing. He enjoyed all kinds of exploration: from globetrotting with Pat, to monthly camping excursions with his sons’ Boy Scout Troop as an assistant scoutmaster, including 50-mile hiking trips, and summiting Mt. Whitney with all three of his children. Bob was an avid movie and theatergoer and loved live music. Bob enjoyed improvising on the piano and taking Chinese brush painting classes. He was quite the dancer and he had a great harmonizing singing voice. Bob was an excellent tennis player, possessing superb groundstrokes and an impossible-to-return spin drop shot until he was 90. Bob also discovered lawn bowling and mastered shot selections due to his knowledge of engineering and physics. Bob had a playful sense of humor, was a wonderful storyteller (as all his grandchildren will attest), and had recently authored a delightful children’s book, “Wiggles, The Fish Who Couldn’t Swim,” inspired by the home fish pond that he constructed. A multiple cancer survivor, Bob carried on with quiet strength and resilience, never complaining about any surgeries or treatments.

Bob was the epitome of a true gentleman and renaissance man. He treated everyone with great respect, was a most caring man, a wonderful listener, and always acted with the utmost integrity. Bob leaves behind his wife and his “forever and after” soulmate, Pat; devoted children, Steven, Linda and daughters-in-law, Bethelyn and Melanie; and five beloved grandchildren: Bradley, Allison (Stephen), Dane, Zachary, and Connor. A Celebration of his Life will be held at a later date, and his legacy will live on forever in our hearts.