KING, ROBERT HOWARD “Bob” passed away peacefully, Saturday, 14 November 2020. He was surrounded by his loved ones at Green Acres of Mt. Pleasant, which provided wonderful care.
This date was one day prior to one of his favorite days: opening day of rifle season. Bob loved to hunt, whether it was in the Upper Peninsula with his father and brother John, as a young man on their family farm, our properties near Johannesburg, Vestaburg, or his beloved Frost Pocket in the U.P. near Amasa, Michigan.
Bob was born in Benton Harbor, on July 24, 1940, to Harold and Dorothy Mildred (Case) King. He grew up on the family fruit farm with his brothers John and Jim in Sodus, Michigan, where he learned a strong work ethic. He graduated from Benton Harbor High School in the Class of 1958. Shortly after, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He proudly served his country mainly in Germany as an aircraft mechanic. He loved traveling in Europe while on leaves.
Upon returning to Sodus, he worked on the farm and Paramount Die Casting and very quickly decided to attend Benton Harbor Community College and transferred to Central Michigan University, obtaining his Bachelor’s of Science and Master’s degrees; He married Donna Butcher in Gaylord in 1969 then obtained his Ph.D. at Michigan State University in Aquatic Ecology. Bob was then hired by CMU as Stream Ecologist / Aquatic Entomologist and taught a plethora of courses mainly in Aquatic Ecology. He mentored many graduate students, who continue to work at agencies or universities in aquatics. He was a director of the CMU Biological Station on Beaver Island (1983-1985).
Post retirement, Bob worked for Mainstream Resources, (David Cozad) consulting firm on many interesting projects on streams and lakes. Besides hunting, Bob was an active member of the Winn United Methodist Church. Bob enjoyed flying his Piper Cherokee (N6140W) especially to Beaver Island, “Beagling”, which included participating and judging AKC field trials east of the Mississippi River, as well as (CKC) Canadian Trails. He has both, AKC and International Champion Beagles. Bob was inducted into the AKC Large Pack Hall of Fame in 2019.
He is survived by his wife Donna, brother Jim King, sister-in-law Louise King, brother-in-law Arthur (Joyce) Butcher, many nieces and nephews, and 25 Beagles.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Clark Funeral Chapel at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the CMU Biological Station, Winn United Methodist Church, Green Acres of Mt. Pleasant, or Heartland Hospice.