Robert Harold Williams was born on October 15, 1929 in Paola, Kansas to Treva and Harold Williams. He had a younger sister, Patty. Bob loved hunting and fishing with his dad, especially their trips to Roaring River in Missouri. He loved music, playing the trumpet in band and singing in the choir. He was active in Boy Scouts and was a good student, and he played football in high school. Bob worked as a lifeguard at the public pool during the summer.

Nira Gale Duck was born on November 11, 1933, in Woodland, Pennsylvania to Luella and Elmer Duck. She was the second of five children. She was also a good student, and was a member of a state-championship baton team. Nira also loved music, singing and playing the church organ. Nira attended Penn State University, and she loved to go to the New Jersey shore with her friends during the summer.

Bob graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Business. After college, he and a few of his college friends joined the United States Coast Guard together and completed Officer Candidate School in Connecticut. Bob served aboard the USS Chincoteague in the North Atlantic, and throughout his life he loved to tell stories about his service.

One summer toward the end of his Coast Guard service, Bob and his buddies went to Cape May, New Jersey on leave. They met a group of girls on the beach and asked them to watch their radio while they swam in the ocean. The emerged from the ocean to find that the girls were gone, as was their radio. After several minutes of searching the beach, they found the girls right where they had left them, as the guys had shifted down the beach during their play in the surf. Relieved, they asked the girls out for ice cream and sodas. One of those girls was Nira. Bob and Nira began dating that summer, and on December 8, 1953, they were married in a snowstorm in a small church in Woodland.

Bob and Nira moved to Lees Summit, Missouri, where Bob began his career with Sears. Nira began working for Hallmark and later worked for IBM, and the professional world ignited her love of organization and problem-solving. Bob worked in the catalog department, where he loved interacting with customers. Bob continued to love hunting and fishing, so when the couple got an opportunity to transfer to Seattle they took it, looking forward to a new array of outdoor opportunities.

The couple moved to Bellevue and eventually bought a home on Mercer Island. Nira worked for Washington Natural Gas as the executive assistant to the Chairman while Bob advanced his career with Sears and eventually became the traffic manager for the Northwest region. They had two daughters, Randi in 1965 and Cindi in 1968. Bob and Nira were loving and considerate parents who spared no effort to make the girls happy and give them an opportunity to thrive. Bob shared his love of the outdoors with the girls, taking them camping, hunting, and fishing as often as he could. The family camped at Cape Lookout in Oregon, and fished and hunted in Eastern Washington. Nira was a diligent supporter of the girls’ activities, taking Randi to early-morning figure skating sessions and sewing her costumes. She also stood in the rain for Cindi’s soccer games and drove her to band practices at 6:30 a.m.

Each Christmas season, Bob and Nira enthusiastically decorated the family’s colonial-style house. “Noel” was spelled out in red letters and spotlit with blue lights, and the house became known as the “Noel House” around Mercer Island in the 70’s and 80’s. The display tested their skills over the years: when lights were stolen, Nira devised a makeshift security system; when a tree grew too tall to put lights on it in a traditional fashion, Bob used a fishing pole to throw a guide line to pull lights to the top!

When the girls were out of elementary school, Nira went back to work, serving as the the executive assistant to a Paccar division manager for seven years. The couple’s love of the Northwest inspired Bob to leave his 27-year career with Sears rather than accept a transfer elsewhere. He took his love of sales to real estate, and he found success working first for Bruch and Vedrich and later the John L. Scott office on Mercer Island. Nira later joined him in the real estate business, and contributed her skills at advertising and event planning to Bob’s good-natured people skills.

Throughout their marriage, Bob and Nira were a delightful study in the strength of opposites. Bob was a laid-back optimist, and Nira was a task-focused problem-solver. Together, their varied strengths helped them raise a family, enjoy a rich life and maintain a successful business. Bob and Nira loved working together, and they did so for many years before retiring. Bob was active in the Mercer Island Rotary Club and attended the Mercer Island United Methodist Church on First Hill, where he sang in the choir. Nira loved creative writing and poetry, always celebrating special occasions with clever homemade cards.

Bob and Nira’s loyalty to each other was most pronounced late in life. As their health declined, they remained committed to lean on each other to keep living independently. During Nira’s five-year battle with cancer, she simultaneously managed her own health and cared for Bob as his Alzeimer’s advanced. Even in failing health, Nira was stubborn about doing things herself, which would surprise nobody who knew her. Nira passed away on March 27, 2013, and Bob passed away on September 5, 2014. Bob and Nira are survived by Randi and Cindi, who were with each of them during their passing. Nira is survived by brothers Sonny (Manon) and Jerry (Gretchen), sisters Maxine and Fonda (Fred), and nieces and nephews Cathy, Robin, Jeff, Danny, Cindy, Sandy, Carrie, Rich, Warren, Jeremy, and Karina. Bob is survived by Patty’s sons Mike, Max, and John.