Robert McBride Obituary

McBride
Robert Lee McBride
February 3, 1937
February 4, 2025

A big bundle of baby boy, the surprise addition to the family of John Scott McBride and Pearl Kent McBride, was born on a freezing Chicago morning in 1937. The baby's twelve year old only brother, John, who was studying the Civil War, thought he should be Robert E. Lee McBride. Thus the baby was christened Robert Lee. Rheumatic fever damaged his heart and nearly took his life as a small child, but Bob's strong Scots/Norwegian heritage eventually triumphed. Those hardy ancestors continued to save him, seeing him though countless medical problems throughout life.
After high school in Chicago Bob attended Rose Poly-technical College before transferring to Stanford University. He was a tall lanky 6'4" whose friends joked he couldn't dance, but was a born Engineer. He proved them right and made his parents proud when he transferred back home his senior year to Iowa State University for love and graduation with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He later went on to hold Professional Engineering licenses in five states. He was also a licensed commercial Real Estate Broker in Texas.
Bob first married his high school sweetheart, Janet Keller in 1958. They had two sons, Andrew Scott McBride and five years later Jeffery Todd McBride. After college he went to work for the Trane company selling commercial heating and air conditioning systems in Des Moines, IA. Despite his success the marriage did not last. Bob wanted to move on in more ways than one. He asked for a transfer to Houston Texas in 1971 where he soon met Cynthia Harper, an Account Executive for the Houston Post. Neither he nor Cynthia ever really dated anyone else thereafter. They married on Juneteenth in 1975 after 'living in sin' for several years. They led an extremely active life, traveling, water-skiing, bicycling, skiing, hiking and camping. In 1977 Bob went to work for an international contractor with many Middle Eastern jobs. The work was remunerative and challenging, but the amount of time he contracted to spend overseas might prove challenging for their marriage. Cynthia set about finding a job that would allow her and their children to travel freely. The goal being opportunities to see Bob more than just twice a year. She was hired by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Thanks to this benevolent employer, the family was then able to get together often, as well visit numerous European countries and the Middle East. After Bob's Middle Eastern contracts slowed down in 1985 he joined CCI in Salt Lake City, UT. Two tiring years of each commuting back and forth between the two cities forced Cynthia to gave up the Houston airline job and move to Salt Lake City. The McBrides continued to travel, hike, camp and ski their way through the West for the next five years. Bob and Cynthia moved on to other jobs and contracts in Dallas and New Jersey, eventually landing in Spicewood, Texas where he took early retirement. They built a beautiful home on two waterfront acres on Lake Travis right outside of Austin. Despite the fabulous location the heat and Texas real estate taxes proved to be too much. In 2004 the McBrides were on the road again settling in yet another scenic location, Colorado Springs. It wasn't long before more of the family joined them there.
Bob was never idle and never stopped traveling. He volunteered for the Habitat for Humanity Restore and joined hiking and investment groups. He was a former Deacon of the Presbyterian Church and President of the National HVAC Engineers. Bob was one of those rare people who manage to keep friends from elementary, high school, college as well as work. He is survived by his best friend and wife, Cynthia, nee Hillis, loving sons Andrew, an Architect/University VP and Jeffery, an Environmental Engineer; step daughters Lisa Weldon, Nurse Practitioner, Charlotte Karako, Electrical Engineer and step-son Bill Harper, Computer Engineer. The McBrides have 10 grand children and seven great grandchildren. A family memorial service will be held in late Spring.