Sereno R Tait
(November 01, 1924 – August 12, 2007)
Sereno Robert “Bob” Tait, Jr., 82, of Shelbyville, died at 3:02 a.m. Sunday, August 12, 2007 in the Mattoon Health Care Center.
Graveside services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday in Camp Butler National Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois, with Rev. David McHenry officiating. Military honors will be provided by the U.S. Air Force, Scott Field. Visitation from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Tuesday in Howe & Yockey Funeral Home, Shelbyville. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Tri-County R C Club, c/o Kelly Bales, 821 N. 16th, Mattoon, IL 61938.
Bob was born on November 1, 1924 in Mt. Carmel, Illinois, the son of Sereno Robert and Pearl Weaver Daves Tait. He was raised in Denver, CO and Evansville, IN.
On May 3, 1946, Bob married the love of his life, Miriam Anne Borowsky Lord in Lakewood, CO. They were blessed with 59 years together.
Bob’s military career spanned WW II, the Korean War and the Vietnam Conflict. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 and served as a tail-gunner on a B-17 with the 381st Bomb Group. After the war, he and Anne settled in Tucson, AZ, where he served with the Tucson Police Department and worked for the Hughes Aircraft Corporation. He was recalled to active duty USAF, attended OCS and served in duty stations in the US, Guam, Japan and Thailand. He retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1971 at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, AZ.
Bob resumed his career in electronics with Hughes Aircraft and worked on several important projects including the TOW, Roland and Phoenix missiles. He retired from Hughes in 1983.
Bob and Anne relocated to Shelbyville, IL where he served on the city council as water and sewer commissioner. Bob’s lifelong passion for aircraft and flying culminated in his membership in the Academy of Model Aeronautics. He thoroughly enjoyed flying, repairing and creating radio-controlled aircraft.
He is survived by his three children, Patricia Anne Tait-Hendrickson and husband Milton of Shelbyville; Robert David Tait and wife Angela of Marysville, WA and Miriam Marie Tait and companion, Frankie Griswold of Jacksonville, FL; brother, Charles Edward Tait and wife Lois of Evansville, IN; five grandchildren, Miriam Therese Tait Walters, Barbara Nichole Perry, Matthew Jacob Tait, Kevin Levi Perry and Juanito Bradford Tait; three great grandchildren, Serena Anne Walters, Ethan Seth Perry and Matthew Lee Carroll; and numerous nieces, nephews and friends will also miss him greatly.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and his beloved wife, Anne in 2005.
Graveside services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday in Camp Butler National Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois, with Rev. David McHenry officiating. Military honors will be provided by the U.S. Air Force, Scott Field. Visitation from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Tuesday in Howe & Yockey Funeral Home, Shelbyville. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Tri-County R C Club, c/o Kelly Bales, 821 N. 16th, Mattoon, IL 61938.
Bob was born on November 1, 1924 in Mt. Carmel, Illinois, the son of Sereno Robert and Pearl Weaver Daves Tait. He was raised in Denver, CO and Evansville, IN.
On May 3, 1946, Bob married the love of his life, Miriam Anne Borowsky Lord in Lakewood, CO. They were blessed with 59 years together.
Bob’s military career spanned WW II, the Korean War and the Vietnam Conflict. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 and served as a tail-gunner on a B-17 with the 381st Bomb Group. After the war, he and Anne settled in Tucson, AZ, where he served with the Tucson Police Department and worked for the Hughes Aircraft Corporation. He was recalled to active duty USAF, attended OCS and served in duty stations in the US, Guam, Japan and Thailand. He retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1971 at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, AZ.
Bob resumed his career in electronics with Hughes Aircraft and worked on several important projects including the TOW, Roland and Phoenix missiles. He retired from Hughes in 1983.
Bob and Anne relocated to Shelbyville, IL where he served on the city council as water and sewer commissioner. Bob’s lifelong passion for aircraft and flying culminated in his membership in the Academy of Model Aeronautics. He thoroughly enjoyed flying, repairing and creating radio-controlled aircraft.
He is survived by his three children, Patricia Anne Tait-Hendrickson and husband Milton of Shelbyville; Robert David Tait and wife Angela of Marysville, WA and Miriam Marie Tait and companion, Frankie Griswold of Jacksonville, FL; brother, Charles Edward Tait and wife Lois of Evansville, IN; five grandchildren, Miriam Therese Tait Walters, Barbara Nichole Perry, Matthew Jacob Tait, Kevin Levi Perry and Juanito Bradford Tait; three great grandchildren, Serena Anne Walters, Ethan Seth Perry and Matthew Lee Carroll; and numerous nieces, nephews and friends will also miss him greatly.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and his beloved wife, Anne in 2005.