Robert James Halt Sr.

Robert James Halt, Sr. was born on March 19, 1948 to Frank and Helen Halt in Tucson, AZ, where he grew up running around the desert and working on cars. He was the only son of 4 children. His three sisters are JoAnn (deceased), Gloria, and Debbie. He joined the Air Force instead of graduating high school and served as a Crew Chief on a B-52 Bomber in Guam and Thailand during Vietnam. He liked to get a plate of water buffalo chateaubriand as big as your head for a quarter, and he managed to be one of the only guys to have ice, so his beer was quite popular.

While in the service he met and married his first wife, Linda, and they welcomed Bob Jr. into the world. After moving back to Tucson from California, they parted ways and Bob moved to Flagstaff to work for a bread company. There he met his wife Lynn at a dance club. He asked her to dance last, but she was his last first dance, serenaded with ‘Jeremiah was a Bullfrog.’ Theirs was a fast relationship, meeting in September of 1971 and getting married the following August 12, 1972. They moved from Flagstaff, after a particularly brutal winter, down to Phoenix where Bob worked at Scottsdale Datsun as a mechanic. During this time, he attended ASU and got his Bachelor’s in Education. He met Phil Black outside one of his classes and thus began his eventual steadfast walk with Christ. He taught high school automotives but left to work for Snap-On Tools. Eventually Bob made his way back to education and landed at the autos shop at Paradise Valley High School, and after stops at 3 other high schools, and extensive teaching experience in Special Education and Industrial Arts, he retired after 36 years.

Coaching sports was a priority for Bob. He has always been known as Coach Halt, coaching his youngest son and daughter in basketball and softball. He also coached high school softball and basketball at elementary through high school levels.It didn’t matter where he went, there was always a student or athlete who wanted to stop him and say hello.

Bob loved spending time with his family every chance he got. He’d take them camping, play games, teach them how to catch fish, make fires, and how to work on cars. If it had an engine and wheels, he’d want to take it apart and make it go faster. He loved watching his grandsons play hockey and soccer and enjoyed attending his granddaughter’s dance recitals. Spending time with his grandkids was always something that brought him joy. He was a kid at heart and thoroughly enjoyed being around young people. Bob loved gardening, always continuing to expand his garden at home. He enjoyed watching and playing all different kinds of sports, especially if his family was involved. He could fix everything and teach anything. His kids always thought there’s nothing he didn’t know. He was endlessly curious and was a lifelong learner.

Bob spent a lot of time at his home church with his Sunday school communities, home fellowship, and bible studies. He spent time serving in the kids ministry, particularly in the nursery, loving on the babies and their families that came in as well as helping and teaching in AWANA. He valued his deep friendships with his morning men’s group and the families in his home fellowship over the years. His faith in Jesus was his priority for himself and his family.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years Lynn, his 4 children - Bobby, Meredithe, Heather, and Trevor, and his 8 grandchildren – Caleb, Terrell, Fiona, Rylynn, Ronin, Caitlyn, Sarah, and Braeden.