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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