Hankey

Robert Keith Hankey, 89, of Austintown, Ohio, formerly of Dayton, Ohio, died Monday.

Born June 18, 1921, in Butler, he was the son of the late James Edward Hankey and Virginia Dare Long Hankey.

Keith was an engineer for Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

He had a great love for family, and his most valued title was president of the Hankey Family, organizing his large family reunion once a year for more than 50 years. He was the last of 13 siblings to survive.

Keith graduated in 1939 from Butler High School. He worked as a draftsman at Wright Field until entering the Army Air Corps Feb. 3, 1943.

He served in World War II as part of the 8th Air Force in Oxford, England, and was a prisoner-of-war for two years in Germany. He was discharged as a second lieutenant and rehired by Wright Patterson Air Force Base in 1947.

He worked his way though college, earning a bachelor's in engineering from the University of Dayton while also building a home for his young family. After 30 years, he retired.

Keith attended Methodist churches in Florida and Austintown, Ohio, and was a member of the Hawker United Church of Christ in Dayton, Ohio, while raising his family.

Keith was a member of bridge clubs and shuffleboard teams. He enjoyed playing cards with family and friends; traveling to United States National Parks, his favorite was Bryce; and worldwide travel. He loved camping, gardening and baseball, playing and coaching Little League.

Keith is survived by his second wife, Vera Viets Burns Hankey, who he married Feb. 12, 1998; three sons, Terry and his wife, Kris, Hankey, Randy and his wife, Julie, Hankey and Robert Hankey; one daughter, Connie and her husband, Richard, Warren; one stepson, Robert and his wife, Diane, Burns; one stepdaughter, Karen and her husband, Bill, Seaton; 14 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.

Keith was preceded in death by his first wife, Marion I. McCormick Hankey. She passed away Jan. 23, 1997.

<B>HANKEY</B> — Friends of Robert Keith Hankey, who died Monday, Dec. 27, 2010, will be received at the <B>Thompson-Miller Funeral Home</B>, 124 E. North St., Butler, Sunday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Services will be at the funeral home at 11 a.m. Monday with the Rev. Dr. Mary J. Kitchen officiating. Interment will follow in North Butler Cemetery, Oakland Township.Contributions may be made to the Cleveland Clinic, 2049 E. 100th St., Cleveland, OH 44195 or to the American Cancer Society, Greater Pittsburgh Area, 320 Bilmar Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15205.Information and a private guest book are available at www.thompson-miller.com.