Robert ‘Bob’ Haymaker

Robert “Bob” Haymaker peacefully passed away on July 3, 2022 at home surrounded by family and cats. So closes a chapter on a life filled with joy, playfulness, curiosity, service and a generous love for others and God’s creation.

Born Robert Lee Haymaker in Indianapolis on Sept. 23, 1935 to John Oglesby Haymaker and Elizabeth “Mimi” Way, Bob grew up in a house on 38th Street and Forest Manor back when a dairy was just down the street, milk was delivered in bottles and his mom kept a victory garden.

A gifted athlete, he played baseball at Broad Ripple High School, where he teamed up with his best friends Ken Sieman and Al Lindop to win city-wide championships.

Selected for a Naval ROTC scholarship for college, Bob studied electrical engineering at the University of Illinois, where he earned his freshmen numerals in baseball, managed the Illinois basketball team and was a senior track and field manager, for which he lettered. He was also a TKE, where he met longtime friends Leo Nelson and Don Edwards and occasionally shared a room with local celebrity Rogue, the dog who was on national TV during a football game.

During summers, he traveled to the U.K., France and Spain during Naval ROTC training cruises. When he graduated he received his commission and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, where he worked with the Seabees (U.S. Naval Construction Battalion) alongside lifelong friend Steve Swan and helped to build the pier at the naval base and taught local children baseball, for which he received a commendation from the school system. In the 1950s as part of the Pacific Command, he was stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii, when it became a state. 

After his time in the service, he worked at North American Aviation and General Dynamics, where he worked on trajectories for the moon landing using slide rules. But he frequently traveled back to the Midwest, where he reconnected with the Muir family, who he knew through his university days, just when Joanne Muir was graduating. They decided to keep in touch and, after a whirlwind, six-month transcontinental courtship, were married on Dec. 31, 1965 in Blue Island, Ill., at St. Paul’s Evangelical Reformed Church.

In the next 10 years, the young couple moved all over the U.S. while Bob installed computer systems and trained personnel: North Wales, Pa., Albuquerque, N.M., Seattle, Wash., Boulder, Colo., and Greencastle, Ind. They rescued two cats, Ripple and Feather, and began to build their menagerie.

Because they wanted to start a family near their families in the Midwest, Bob accepted a position at Lone Star Industries and they made their home in Greencastle, building a house west of town by the Little Walnut where they planted trees, watched the seasons change, raised their children (and, for a time, some Black Angus) and welcomed cats and dogs who found their way to them — and a new home.

Known for his quirky sense of humor and fun-loving nature, Bob was active in the community, especially St. Andrew’s Episcopal church, where he served as an acolyte and eucharistic minister — and on Sundays enthusiastically rang the bell to start the service. He was active in youth sports in town, especially swimming, and helped with the timing system and officiating at DePauw under Mary Bretscher. With St. Andrew’s, he was active in running the concession stands and, for 15 years, helped make sure hot dogs, popcorn and fountain drinks were in supply at DePauw sporting events.

He also served on the Library Board, believing that reading is the most important gift you can give a child.

In retirement, Bob decided to keep active by taking a job at the FedEx airport hub in Indianapolis. Taking advantage of flight privileges, he rode the jump seat to visit friends in Europe and revisit Hawaii — but what he most enjoyed was the camaraderie with the younger workers. His curiosity and kindness made him friends everywhere he went.

He also practiced Tai chi twice weekly with his wife Joanne and a small but committed group of friends for more than 20 years. 

Family and God’s creation were everything to Bob. With Joanne, he consummated his commitment to the environment by putting their land in a conservation easement with Ouabache Land Conservancy to ensure that the property, once a degraded farm, now a flourishing woods, would be protected in perpetuity.

His love for the woods — from the chorus of the barred owls at night, the blossoming of the tulip poplars in the springtime, the sighting of a Great blue or kingfisher, the buzzing of his hummingbird friends–brought great joy to him. His last advice to his daughter was “Take care of God’s beautiful creation and all its creatures.”

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, sister Margaret Anne “Midge” Ervin and her husband, Gene.

He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Joanne, and his two children, Christopher (Cynthia) Haymaker of Kalamazoo, Mich., and Beth (David) Haymaker, of Greencastle; grandchildren Haile Haymaker Bane and Mae Bane Haymaker of Kalamazoo; sister- and brother-in-law Marilyn and Leo Nelson, Geneva, Ill.; nephew Andy (Katy) Ervin, Brownsburg; niece Lissa Newland, Indianapolis; nephew Dan (Joan) Nelson, North Bend, Wash.; Leslie (Mark) Maloney, St. Charles, Ill.; great-nieces and -nephews Danny (Courtney) Spence and their daughter Piper, Gus and Connie Ervin, Damion (Jessie) Liu and their daughter Jade, Detlef Nelson and Grace, Jack and Sidney Maloney. He is also survived by a beloved set of Muirs, Andersons and Garrels, all of whom he treasured in his heart.

The Haymaker family would like to share their heartfelt love and appreciation to all of Bob’s friends and relatives of all ages who brought such joy and laughter to his life. Before he passed, he said, “I have had a wonderful life” — in large part because of all the friends he made.

A celebration of Bob’s life is planned at St. Andrews Episcopal Church on Saturday, July 23 from 2-5 p.m.

To honor Bob’s legacy, plant a native tree or some wildflowers, read a book to a child, pick up some trash on the side of the road and wonder at the beauty of God’s creation all around us.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Bob’s name can be made to the Oubache Land Conservancy, St. Andrew’s Church or the Putnam County Public Library, all of which Bob was proud to contribute to throughout his life.