Obituary: Lt. Colonel Robert James Eitel U.S. Marine Corps, Retired

Robert "Bob" James Eitel died peacefully on July 7, 2013, in Las Vegas, Nev., surrounded by the family who loved him. He was 82.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years Sandra Makin Eitel; their son Robert Scott "Bob" Eitel of Alexandria, Va.; and daughter Pamela Jean Hatty of Las Vegas; daughter-in-law Nan Roberts Eitel of Alexandria; son-in-law Ross Hatty of Las Vegas; grandchildren, Makin James Eitel, Taylor Lawrence Hatty, Henry Robert Hatty and Molly Rose Hatty; brother-in-law John Holmes Makin and his wife Gwendolyn Van Paasschen, and their daughter Jane of Washington, D.C.; a sister Dolores Eitel; and a nephew Steven Maviglio.

Born in Newark, N.J. on Sept. 17, 1930, Bob graduated from Irvington (N.J.) High School and attended Adelphi College in Garden City, N.Y., on an athletic scholarship. After a successful career as a naval aviator in the U.S. Marine Corps during which he served two tours in Vietnam and as a Marine One pilot, Bob retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1973. He taught Marine Corps ROTC at Jesuit High School in New Orleans until 1975, when he worked for Merrill Lynch in New Orleans, retiring in 1992 as a Vice President.

Services will be at Arlington National Cemetery with full military funeral honors in several months. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bob's memory to the Wounded Warrior Project, Inc., either online or by mail to P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675.

Information provided by survivors.