1936
Robert
2014
Robert Wilbur Hankins
March 23, 1936 — May 28, 2014
Charlotte
Robert Wilbur Hankins died on May 28, 2014, surrounded by his loving family.
Bob was born on March 22, 1936 in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania to Donald Wayne Hankins and Dorothy Gundry Hankins. With a father who had pitched for the Detroit Tigers, he was a natural in sports. He was defensive left end for the R.J. Reynolds High School football team during their consecutive seasons in the North Carolina state AAA championships in 1952 and 1953. (His favorite football story was the time he intercepted the ball and was racing for a touchdown, when a player on the opposing team left the bench and tackled him!) He also went to the state championship on the Reynolds track team and ran cross country at Duke. Exquisitely detailed accounts of his moments of glory in sports were among his favorite topics.
Bob was president of the North Carolina Honor Society and student body president at Reynolds High School in 1954. He attended Duke University on an academic scholarship, graduating with a B.S. in Engineering in 1958. While at Duke, he was president of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. Bob completed the MBA program at Ohio State University in 1967, concluding his formal academic studies with a Ph.D. in Accounting from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1985.
Bob never concluded informal study, however. A self-taught scholar, he maintained an extensive library on religion. Within each book was another, better book, an edition created with his famous yellow highlighter.
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Hankins retired in 1979 from the United States Air Force. What he liked most about his military career were the extensive travel and cultural immersion opportunities it offered. What he liked least was the time apart from his family. He then dedicated himself to a twenty year second career as a professor of accounting at Tulane University, Texas State University-San Marcos, and Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was tenured.
Brilliant and loquacious, his greatest pleasure was expounding his opinion and embellishing memories. A staunch conservative, he fathered four liberals! He loved his Chevy vans. (They were damn good vans.) Although he adored sailing, he spent more time refinishing his boat than sailing it. He listened to opera and Leonard Cohen. His idea of light reading was statistical theory and religious philosophy He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and the great outdoors.
Military service meant the constant relocation of his family, leaving behind friends and familiarity or long periods of separation from them. Bob and Joy, his college sweetheart and wife for 33 years, met all challenges as a team, until her untimely death in 1991. He lost two sons, one at birth and one in his prime. In his last years, his health steadily declined. He rarely complained, stoic until the end.
He had a stroke on May 27th, hanging on until his devoted daughters and beloved sister were with him. Then he peacefully passed away, with a Chopin nocturne in the background. His steadfast character is reflected in his favorite scripture, Micah 6:8,"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Bob was preceded in death by his wife Joyce Love Hankins; by his son Donald Wayne Hankins, who inherited his work ethic and passion for achievement; and by his son Kent Douglas Hankins.
Those who continue to cherish his memory include daughter Robin Hankins of Charlotte; daughter Kirsten Bachmann, her husband Charles, and grandson Cole of Raleigh; and daughter Lisa Hart, her husband Steve, grandchildren Joy and William of Charlotte; daughter-in-law Jane Hankins and grandsons Sam and Jack, of Chapel Hill; sister Lois Welfare, her husband John, and niece Martha of Roanoke , VA; niece Beth Welfare, of Greensboro; and Helen Shaner Hankins, his wife for 20 years, of Round Rock, TX.
A graveside service to celebrate Bob's life will be held Saturday, June 21 at 12:30 at Hillside Memorial Park, 401 South Bypass, Laurinburg, NC. The family would like to thank the Aldersgate community for their service and companionship and the staff at Carolinas Medical Center for their compassionate and expert care. Memorial gifts may be sent to: Connestee Falls Fishing Club Outreach Program. PO Box 218 Cedar Mountain, NC 28718.
Read Robert Hankins's Obituary and Guestbook on www.mcdougald.com.
Robert Wilbur Hankins died on May 28, 2014, surrounded by his loving family.
Bob was born on March 22, 1936 in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania to Donald Wayne Hankins and Dorothy Gundry Hankins. With a father who had pitched for the Detroit Tigers, he was a natural in sports. He was defensive left end for the R.J. Reynolds High School football team during their consecutive seasons in the North Carolina state AAA championships in 1952 and 1953. (His favorite football story was the time he intercepted the ball and was racing for a touchdown, when a player on the opposing team left the bench and tackled him!) He also went to the state championship on the Reynolds track team and ran cross country at Duke. Exquisitely detailed accounts of his moments of glory in sports were among his favorite topics.
Bob was president of the North Carolina Honor Society and student body president at Reynolds High School in 1954. He attended Duke University on an academic scholarship, graduating with a B.S. in Engineering in 1958. While at Duke, he was president of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. Bob completed the MBA program at Ohio State University in 1967, concluding his formal academic studies with a Ph.D. in Accounting from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1985.
Bob never concluded informal study, however. A self-taught scholar, he maintained an extensive library on religion. Within each book was another, better book, an edition created with his famous yellow highlighter.
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Hankins retired in 1979 from the United States Air Force. What he liked most about his military career were the extensive travel and cultural immersion opportunities it offered. What he liked least was the time apart from his family. He then dedicated himself to a twenty year second career as a professor of accounting at Tulane University, Texas State University-San Marcos, and Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was tenured.
Brilliant and loquacious, his greatest pleasure was expounding his opinion and embellishing memories. A staunch conservative, he fathered four liberals! He loved his Chevy vans. (They were damn good vans.) Although he adored sailing, he spent more time refinishing his boat than sailing it. He listened to opera and Leonard Cohen. His idea of light reading was statistical theory and religious philosophy He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and the great outdoors.
Military service meant the constant relocation of his family, leaving behind friends and familiarity or long periods of separation from them. Bob and Joy, his college sweetheart and wife for 33 years, met all challenges as a team, until her untimely death in 1991. He lost two sons, one at birth and one in his prime. In his last years, his health steadily declined. He rarely complained, stoic until the end.
He had a stroke on May 27th, hanging on until his devoted daughters and beloved sister were with him. Then he peacefully passed away, with a Chopin nocturne in the background. His steadfast character is reflected in his favorite scripture, Micah 6:8,"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Bob was preceded in death by his wife Joyce Love Hankins; by his son Donald Wayne Hankins, who inherited his work ethic and passion for achievement; and by his son Kent Douglas Hankins.
Those who continue to cherish his memory include daughter Robin Hankins of Charlotte; daughter Kirsten Bachmann, her husband Charles, and grandson Cole of Raleigh; and daughter Lisa Hart, her husband Steve, grandchildren Joy and William of Charlotte; daughter-in-law Jane Hankins and grandsons Sam and Jack, of Chapel Hill; sister Lois Welfare, her husband John, and niece Martha of Roanoke , VA; niece Beth Welfare, of Greensboro; and Helen Shaner Hankins, his wife for 20 years, of Round Rock, TX.
A graveside service to celebrate Bob's life will be held Saturday, June 21 at 12:30 at Hillside Memorial Park, 401 South Bypass, Laurinburg, NC. The family would like to thank the Aldersgate community for their service and companionship and the staff at Carolinas Medical Center for their compassionate and expert care. Memorial gifts may be sent to: Connestee Falls Fishing Club Outreach Program. PO Box 218 Cedar Mountain, NC 28718.
Read Robert Hankins's Obituary and Guestbook on www.mcdougald.com.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Robert Wilbur Hankins, please visit our flower store.