More detail on this person: Robert passed away
peacefully surrounded by his three children. Bob
was born in Cleveland, OH, as the only child of
Mary DeSantis, a beloved mother and grandmother.
He attended Benedictine High, and thereafter
attended John Carroll University and enrolled in
the Reserve Officers Training Corp (ROTC) -- where
his love of the military was founded. He married
Peggy Pech Johnson in 1959, and thereafter
attended Officer Training in Fort Eustis, VA.
Graduating at the top of his class, he was
selected for Army Aviation Flight School, where he
was trained as a helicopter pilot, in Camp
Wolters, TX, and Fort Rucker, AL -- and his
life-long love of helicopters began. His Army unit
was then stationed at Fort Ord, CA, until he
departed for Vietnam as a helicopter pilot. There,
he flew many missions, was downed several times
without significant injury, and received an Air
Medal 7th Oak Leaf Cluster.
He returned to Ohio where he flew and sold
helicopters for several companies (Goodyear,
Fazios and Bell Helicopter), until Hughes
Helicopter brought his family back to California
in the 1970s. Bob and Peggy raised their three
children in North Tustin. Over the past few
decades, Bob became the loving father-in-law to
Eric Olofson (Jill) and Laurie DeSantis (Jeff)
and, maybe most personally significant of all of
his accomplishments, became the beloved Grandpa
to Jenny, Lexi, Dani, Jackie, JR, James and Grace.
He proudly displayed decals on his car for each
college his grandchildren attended, and his
greatest love was hearing his grandchildren's
stories and accounts of their lives.
Bob had a fondness for German-built cars,
especially Porsches. He owned and restored at
least 15 different Porsches, usually several at a
time, which he maintained meticulously. Even at
the age of 78, he had two on-going Porsche
restoration projects in his garage. When he was
not discussing his Porsches, his family, the
military, or anything Republican-related (Trump!),
he loved to talk about his two best friends, Ken
Stanton, who trained and flew with him from
Florida, and Bob Pech, his brother-in-law from
Ohio.
Bob was the ultimate patriot, who loved his
country and loved serving his country. In honor of
Bob and in lieu of flowers, Bob would want you to
greet and shake the hand of every armed service
members you pass, saying "Thank you for your
service", as Bob always did and as he taught his
children and grandchildren to do. Any donations
can be made to his favorite charity, the
NightStalkers, which supports the families of
military helicopter pilots:
www.savannahherosoar.org/donate.html. Bob lived
life his way and will be missed by all. His
children thank their mother Peggy and Bob's
longtime friend, Martha Bass, for their friendship
with Bob until the end.
His Funeral with Military Honors is set for
Saturday, January 23, 1:00 p.m. at Our Lady Queen
of Angels Catholic Church in Newport Beach.
Thanks to all who touched his life, from his
children: Jeff DeSantis, Jill DeSantis Olofson and
Lisa DeSantis.
Published in Orange County Register on Jan. 21,
2016
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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