Robert (Bob) Piatt, 79, of Victoria, Kansas, passed away on Sunday, November 24, 2024 at Good Samaritan Home in Ellis, Kansas, following a courageous, long-time battle with several medical issues.
Bob was born in Eureka, Kansas, to Robert and Lois Piatt and spent his early years on the family farm, which he remembered as being a wonderful place. He loved telling people about riding his horse to a one-room schoolhouse in the first grade. Through his Madison years, he credited his membership in 4-H with acquiring practical and life lessons. He was also very proud of having earned the rank of Eagle Scout during his high school years.
Bob married his wife Nancy McGuire in 1972 and they were the proud parents of Christopher and Matthew. In addition to their own sons, they were surrogate parents to their niece Meghan McGuire and three international exchange students, Jasmin Wusthoff, (Germany) Anita Solheim, (Norway) and Greta Kaufeld (Germany).
Although Bob was a huge sports fan at heart, neither son had athletic abilities to speak of. So he happily pivoted to sitting through countless plays, variety shows, recitals, concerts and even the occasional opera.
A 1962 graduate of Madison High School, Bob continued his education earning both a Bachelor's and Master’s degree in English and Special Education from Emporia State University. He spent his first teaching years in Beloit and later taught at WaKeeney High School, Gorham and Russell High School. Taking a break from teaching in 1972, Bob worked for 10 years in Garden City for a government program known as the Neighborhood Youth Corps before returning to education. Everywhere he worked, he built friendships with colleagues that lasted until the end of his life. His favorite extra-curricular responsibility was directing school productions both in Russell and Victoria known for their zany comedy and huge casts (in which occasionally he made a surprise cameo appearance).
A mentor and role model to generations of students, many credited him as helping them turn their lives around when it mattered most. His volunteer commitments included devoted participation in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program. He also served on the local Board for the National Alliance for Mental Illness and the Victoria Housing Authority.
Through the years, Bob and Nancy were known for their hospitality, welcoming dozens of actors, musicians, comedians and other riffraff who passed through Victoria in need of room and board. His love of animals, especially dogs, enriched his entire life.
Bob was a passionate fisherman whose adventures took him and his many buddies to Kansas ponds, frozen Minnesota ice waters, and Canadian lakes. Bob always had a green thumb and was especially proud of his asparagus and tomato crops. An avid reader of hundreds of books, he was known to be a formidable competitor in Trivial Pursuit.
Everyone who knew him well has memories of his incredibly sharp sense of humor. He could get a laugh out of almost anyone in his presence.
A quiet man of faith, Bob was eternally grateful for life’s simple pleasures. He was known to say “God knew what he was doing, when he planted me in rural Kansas.”
Bob was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Georgeann and husband Jack, and his sister Drusilla and husband George, and niece Kathy Haworth.
He is survived by his wife Nancy, son Christopher from Chicago, son Matthew and son-in-law Kevin Thornton of San Francisco as well as a large, extended loving family and countless friends.
A celebration of life will be at 11:00 am on Saturday, January 4, 2025 at Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 5:00 pm until 7:00 on Friday, January 3, 2025 and from 10:00 am until service time, all at the funeral home. Memorials are suggested to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ellis County, HaysMed Hospice, or to Great Plains Theatre in Abilene. Condolences and memories of Bob may be left for his family at www.haysmemorial.com.