Robert L. Huffstutter was born on January 9, 1942, and died on June 25, 2025, after a 26-day stay in the hospital. He was born to Robert Clifton Huffstutter and Elsie Lucille Huffstutter in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

When Robert was a young boy, he was cared for by his uncle, James Huffstutter, and his wife Dorothy, who raised him like their own son. Dorothy’s parents, Frank and Ella Hawthorne, also played a big part in his life. Granddad Hawthorne saved him from getting burned when he was five or six years old while raking leaves into a fire, and Grandma Hawthorne was, in Robert’s words, “the sweetest lady there ever was.”

He lived on South Arlington in Independence and had a great bunch of friends growing up. They had many adventures by the Missouri River, hosted casino nights, walked to school together, and made lifelong friendships.

Robert had many loving relatives in Trenton, with whom he spent family vacations during the summer. He always spoke highly of those times and the people he shared them with. Even after all these years, the photos from those vacations still bring smiles.

Robert had a sister, Linda K. Eairheart of Osage Beach, whom he loved dearly. Even though circumstances kept them apart, she wrote what seemed like hundreds of letters over the years, which Robert deeply appreciated. Sometimes he got sad thinking about how they didn’t get to grow up together.

Robert was a very talented writer, artist, and photographer. He started writing in high school at Van Horn, where he was influenced by a favorite teacher, Mr. Smith, who was well-loved by all.

His art style was unique—working in pastel and watercolor mediums—and featured scenes from Japan, California, and Kansas City. Some of his artwork, photos, and essays can be viewed on Flickr by searching “Robert L. Huffstutter.” Just a warning: you could get happily lost for days exploring his work and reading his thoughtful comments.

Robert served in the U.S. Navy from 1960 to 1965.

He began his service at his first unit at NAS North Island, just across the bay from where he had completed boot camp in San Diego. From 1961 to 1963, he was a part of VQ-1, based out of Atsugi, Japan.

He has written about this squadron and the men he served with. Robert was fortunate to be a part of it all. He was honorably discharged in 1965.

Robert has documented his time in the Navy, the shipmates he bonded with, the adventures they shared, and the routines they followed before a night of liberty.

Robert married his beloved wife, Patricia, on September 12, 1965, in Miami, Oklahoma. They were together for nearly 60 years. They met in eighth grade at Van Horn High School and knew each other nearly their entire lives. They shared a deep love—for each other and for the arts, nature, bird-watching, reading the Bible, music, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, and watching the news.

Robert would win the award for Best Father and Grandfather. He made his daughter feel like he was always on her side, no matter what. He constantly told her how proud he was of her and how much he appreciated her efforts and hard work—the epitome of unconditional love. Caleb his son-in-law shared a lot of time with Robert, on the deck, talking and telling jokes to one another. Caleb was able to speak to him the night before he died. He told him a joke and said hurry up and come home Bobbie. Robert felt incredibly fortunate to be close to his grandchildren, whom he adored. The memories of everything he did with them as they were growing up are to be cherished.

He loved taking them to school and picking them up, doing art together—drawing, coloring, and making clay figurines. He took them to the library, where they’d check out stacks of books, and then, of course, he was an entertaining reader. Robert brought them to parks and McDonald’s and let them play for hours. He and his grandkids had a collection of metal cars they bought at CVS for $5.99, which they played with for hours. Robert loved trains and got to share that love with his grandchildren back in 2008 when he and Patricia took them to St Louis on the train, visiting the zoo and staying for 2 days before returning on the train. He took them to the Plaza Art Fair at least ten times and took thousands of pictures of them growing up.

Robert loved his dogs, Blackie and Brownie, and now—poor things—they don’t understand what happened. He loved all of his pets over the years. His German Shepherd, Moby, used to walk with him in the park by the Missouri River for hours at night in the early 2000s.

Robert always prayed for us over the years. If we were going on an important medical trip for our son, he would pray for safe travels and good news from the doctors. He prayed for our daughter when joining the Coast Guard and prayed for a good outcome when our youngest daughter broke her neck earlier this year. Robert kept the faith.

Robert is preceded in death by his uncle Jim Huffstutter and aunt Dorothy, grandparents Frank and Ella Hawthorne, his father Robert Clifton Huffstutter, his mother Lucille Beals, and his in-laws Ralph and Helen Sterling.

Robert’s mother, Lucille, had other children: Charlie Pritchard, Danny Pritchard, Kenny Pritchard, Sandra Lynn, and Susan.

Robert is survived by his wife, Patricia; his daughter and son-in-law, Wendy and Caleb Newton; grandchildren Tosh Newton (and his wife Francesca), Reilly Newton, and Brooke Newton; his sister, Linda K. Eairheart; and friend Jeff Huber, who stayed by Robert’s side in the hospital for 26 days.

Words cannot encompass everything we feel for our husband, father, and grandfather. We hear his voice in our minds and hearts, and just want to do what he would’ve wanted, moving forward. He left us with many gifts—art, poems, stories—to remember him and cherish his 83 years on Earth.

I love you, Dad.

Send to someone

Share this obituary with others

https://everloved.com/life-of/robert-huffstutter/obituary/

Copy