Robert Edmund Dr. Mccollum

GARNER - Dr. Robert Edmund Bob McCollum died peacefully at home with his family on his 90th birthday. Born to Ernest and Florence McCollum in the Bethany community of Rockingham County, North Carolina, Bob grew up on the family farm as the oldest of 7 children.He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1940 and became a drill instructor before being deployed to the Pacific theater. He fought in the Battle of Sugar Loaf Hill on Okinawa, where he was wounded while coming to the aid of a fellow soldier. He spent two years in hospitals recovering from his injuries. While in the hospital in New York, he met his wife, Doris Deacon.Upon his release from the hospital, he was discharged from the Marine Corps with the rank of Master Gunnery Sergeant. Bob and Doris raised six children while Bob completed his BS and MS degrees at NC State and his PhD in Agronomy at the University of Illinois.He joined the faculty at NCSU, where he advised graduate students and conducted agricultural research around the world until his retirement in 1987. He was an avid fisherman, and enjoyed fishing well into retirement. An active member of the Marine Corps League and the Disabled America Veterans, he volunteered for over ten years as a driver, transporting veterans to the VA Hospital in Durham, and was instrumental in raising funds to purchase the DAV a van to serve the Raleigh area.Bob was preceded in death by his wife, Doris, son Don, and daughter Nancy.He is survived by his children Linda Lee of Hamer, SC, Robert E. (Bob) McCollum, Jr. of Raleigh, Dr. Andy McCollum of Mount Vernon, Iowa, and Lisa King of Garner, NC, as well as eleven grandchildren, five great grandchildren and his siblings Peggy Sharpe, Rachel Wright, Grady McCollum and Beth Ann Lyerly.A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 7 at Victory Church, 1250 Aversboro Road,Garner, NC.In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Woodrow Wilson Chapter #1 of the Disabled American Veterans.