Family and friends are remembering Bob Estep and sharing this remembrance with his community:

Robert (Bob) Estep
1931 – 2024

Robert Estep passed peacefully on November 16, 2024 at the age of 93, into the presence of his Lord and Savior.

Bob was a lifelong resident of West Seattle and one of six children. He graduated from West Seattle High School in 1948 and joined the US Navy soon after. He served on the USS Norton Sound as a Radioman, Third Class during the Korean War. He was honorably discharged in 1951, where he returned to West Seattle and married his high-school sweetheart and started a family.

Bob enjoyed a decades-long career at the Boeing Company until his retirement in 1991. During his time at Boeing, he served on the board of the Boeing Management Association and was part of the team that moved the Red Barn up the Duwamish River to its current location at the Museum of Flight.

Bob and his wife were longtime members of West Side Presbyterian Church, where he served as a Deacon and Elder. Later in life, they attended University Presbyterian Church.

Bob’s many hobbies included bicycling, golfing, walking, and in his later years, playing recreational volleyball with other seniors at a local community center. He undertook a self-imposed mission of finding, walking, and mapping every outdoor public stairway in West Seattle. His efforts were featured in a March 5, 2010 edition of the West Seattle Herald.

At the age of 40, his family gave him a bicycle and he started a tradition of cycling his age in miles each year on his birthday, taking his last ride at the age of 80. He participated in the Chilly Hilly, STP ride, and the Heart Fund Ride in 1976 and 1978.

As an avid walker, he participated in several 3-day cancer walks in honor and support of his wife.

The West Seattle YMCA was also a special part of his life. Bob started going to the Y as a young boy in 1940. There he would swim, attend community dinners, and played on the Y basketball team along with one of his brothers. As an adult, Bob and his wife participated in the Active Older Adults fitness classes, forming long-lasting friendships. Bob also taught the AARP Safe Driving course at the Y for 15 years.

For most of his retirement years, Bob and his wife would spend the month of October on Maui. Over the years they developed another group of close friends that became their Maui family.

Bob was preceded in death by his wife of over 50 years, and youngest daughter. He is survived by 3 children, 5 grandchildren, 1 great-grandchild, a sister, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Although a quiet and private man, he will be remembered for his deep faith and kind soul who was always looking for ways to help others. He loved his family and friends deeply.

The family would like to express their deep gratitude to Florence of Seattle for their exceptional care and support they provided Robert for the past 2 and 1/2 years.

(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries and memorial announcements by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to westseattleblog@gmail.com)