Obituary of Robert N. Dickinson

Robert (Bob) Dickinson passed away peacefully and unexpectedly at home May 10, 2019. He was a Merritt Island resident for 55 years, an engineer during the Apollo program, and a participant in all things Brevard. He grew up fishing and studying nature on Lake Eloise in Winter Haven, within view of Cypress Gardens. After earning a degree in metallurgy from Colorado School of Mines, he moved to Pittsburg to work as a metallurgist at Allegheny Ludlum Steel, and savored the memory of riding the company’s stainless steel Ford. He later earned an M.S. in chemistry from UNC, Chapel Hill, returning to Florida to work for Bendix, PRC, and finally EG&G. Bob was a member of the KSC Barracudas dive club, an avid tennis player and teacher, a Hobie Cat racer, and a board sailor. His favorite beach was 13th Street in Cocoa Beach. He enjoyed the Mousetrap in its day, the Beach Shack, and the Tiki Bar at the Port, long before cruise ships, when there was just a gravel parking lot and Ramp Follies on the weekend. Bob had a passion for knowledge, from aviation, sailing, and astronomy to art and antiques. He collected books, sea beans, old tools, and pottery, and was a frequent shopper at Ascension Catholic thrift shop. He enjoyed Florida Tech science lectures and knew the WFIT radio schedule by heart. He was a member of the Space Coast Jazz Society, the Melbourne Chamber Music Society, and volunteered at the Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science. Robert is survived by his wife and best friend, Heather Elko; two sisters, Catherine Casteel of Eagle Lake, and Rosa Kirkman (Larkin) of Raleigh, NC; two nephews, and their children.