Dear friends of Capt. Bob Marcott .... sharing this news of
his passing...........
Robert Wayne Marcott (General - Retired) ( July 24, 1949 -
February 16, 2019 )
Thank you,
~ Carol for the PCN
- IN MEMORY -
NAL/PAA/UAL Captain Bob Marcott
DOB July 24, 1949 DOH Nov 1, 1977 DOD Feb 16, 2019
USAF Veteran-Brigadier General USAFR
Click below for Bob's extensive obituary. The second link is
to Bob's guest book at Oakmont Funeral Home, which includes a more recent
picture. Our thanks to Joe Orzeck for news of Bob's passing.
Guestbook available at :
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Obituary: Brigadier General Robert “Bob” Wayne Marcott was born in
Wichita, KS on July 24, 1949. He was the
son of the late Melvin Francis Marcott and Bernice Dolores Nelson Marcott. Bob grew up in the rural town of Burns, KS
until 1956 when his family moved west to San Mateo, CA. His high school years were consumed with his
passion for baseball with Bob receiving the league’s Most Valuable Player Award
in 1967 as a pitcher, the same year he graduated from Hillsdale High School. He briefly considered a career in baseball
and spent the summer travelling with a local baseball barnstorming team, but
his true calling was to become a pilot.
In the fall of 1967 he began that journey at the College of San Mateo
majoring in aeronautics. Always goal
oriented, he progressed rapidly earning private, commercial, flight instructor
and multi-engine ratings. He would often
fly students to Vacaville’s Nut Tree Airport for lunch, not realizing that
Vacaville would become his long-time home.
He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Operations
from San Jose State University in 1972 where he was a distinguished graduate of
the Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Program. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant
in the United States Air Force on June 7, 1972.
Bob began his Air Force aviation career at Reese AFB, TX,
where he earned his Air Force wings flying the T-37 “Tweet” and the T-38
“Talon”. Following Pilot Training, he
relocated to Altus AFB, Oklahoma where he transitioned to the C-141
“Starlifter”. His first assignment after
training was to the 15th Airlift Squadron (ALS), Norton AFB, CA
where he flew the C-141 “Starlifter” to the four corners of the globe. He served in the “plans branch” of the 15th
ALS, as a duty officer in the 63rd Airlift Wing Control Center, and
later on as an Airlift Control Element (ALCE) Commander for Red Flag at Nellis
AFB, NV. In 1976, Bob transferred from
active duty to the Air Force Reserve, joining the 729th ALS, Norton
AFB, CA.
In 1980, Bob joined the 708th ALS, Travis AFB, CA
where he continued his C-141 flying career.
In 1990, he was activated and served in Operations Desert Shield and
Desert Storm. He was later appointed
Chief Pilot of the 708th ALS and served simultaneously as the
Chairman of the 349th Small Computer Working Group. In 1996, Bob was selected as Commander of the
710th ALS. His duties
included integrating the 708th ALS into the 710th
ALS. On November 15, 1997, the 710th
ALS was formally deactivated, ending the C-141 mission at Travis AFB and Bob’s
twenty-five-year career flying the C-141.
He continued his affiliation with the 349th Air Mobility Wing
as Assistant Director to the 349th Operations Group Commander. He was promoted to Colonel in May 1998 and
transferred to the 615th Air Mobility Operations Group (AMOG),
Travis AFB, where he served as the IMA to the Commander.
In October 1998, Bob was appointed Vice Wing Commander of
the 433rd Airlift Wing, Kelly AFB, TX where he flew the C-5 “Galaxy”. In December 2000, he was selected as the
Mobilization Assistant to the J4, Director of Logistics, Engineering and
Security Assistance, United States Pacific Command, Camp H. M. Smith, HI. He was promoted to Brigadier General on
October 18, 2002. Throughout his years
of service, General Marcott displayed unwavering devotion to duty,
inspirational leadership, initiative and professionalism.
Throughout the course of his military career, General
Marcott was employed as a commercial pilot in the private sector. He began his career with National Airlines in
1977 until its merger with Pan American World Airways in 1980 and flew for Pan
Am until its demise in 1991. In 1990, as
a B-747 pilot, he was selected to fly as a member of the White House Press
Charter crew for Pan Am. He retired from
United Air Lines as a San Francisco based Airbus 320 Captain in July 2014 after
twenty-one years of service. He briefly
flew Gulfstream 200 jets in the corporate sector at the end of his flying
career. Bob logged more than 40,000
hours flight time from the combination of his military and civilian
careers.
General Marcott was a graduate of the Air Command and Staff
College, the Reserve National Defense Course and Air War College. He obtained a Master’s Degree in Aeronautical
Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a Fellowship in National
Security Leadership from Syracuse University.
General Marcott’s awards included the Legion of Merit, Air
Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Kuwait Liberation
Medal and various other unit and campaign decorations.
Bob had a keen interest in and served on the Board of
Directors for the Center for Freedom and Flight, an air museum and armory
located in Vacaville, CA. He was honored
to be a member of this board and looked forward to contributing to its
continued growth and success. He also
served on the San Jose State Aviation Advisory Board where he helped develop
curricula, career guidance programs and interview techniques for aspiring pilots.
Bob was a man of many interests, with unrelenting energy,
who persevered in the toughest of times.
He was a master at setting goals and achieving them. He did not have the best of luck with private
sector employers as both Pan Am and United Air Lines went bankrupt! He worked hard to overcome these obstacles
and rebuild his career under difficult circumstances. He was a true Renaissance man with a passion
for life like no other and would try most anything at least once including
flying a helicopter, (a difficult task for a fixed wing pilot!), scuba diving
(he was night dive certified), golfing, sailing on San Francisco Bay, Western
Saddle (he once owned a horse) and English Saddle horseback riding (he fell off
the horse and that was the end of that!), acting as an “extra” in TV shows (be
sure to see him in the upcoming season of the TV series “13 Reasons Why”), and
he continued to play baseball in the Roy Hobbs League until his body said
“Enough!” He acted as a General
Contractor for his own building project and aspired to grow grapes on his
country property. Bob travelled the
world vacationing in Japan, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Viet Nam, Thailand and Cuba,
and had travelled to every continent, including Antarctica. He had planned an around the world trip
including stops in Dubai, Oman, and Singapore.
His love, however, was always the Hawaiian Islands, Maui in particular,
where Bob and his love, Gayle, enjoyed many happy times.
And then there were Bob’s two nautical loves, both Chris
Craft motor yachts. First, there was the thirty-five-foot Baby Bear and most recently, the Al Di La, his beloved fifty-foot Chris Craft that he finally found
in Florida after three years of searching.
Always adventurous, he piloted the Al
Di La from Florida’s gulf coast through the Okeechobee Waterway, down the
Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway to Ft. Lauderdale where she was hoisted onto a
ship, transported through the Panama Canal and unloaded in Ensenada, Mexico,
quite a feat. Bob then piloted her to
her new home in San Diego where she still awaits her Captain Bob to return to
her.
Always on modernization’s cutting edge, Bob embraced new
technology and greater efficiency. An
avid reader and life long learner, he had the vision to understand how new
technologies could benefit mankind. He
had the ability to cut through the small details and envision the final outcome
and used this ability throughout his life.
Racing towards the future, he thought a Tesla would get him there in
style. So, yet another love, “Teela”,
the Tesla came into his life. While
Teela was feeding at the local charging station, Bob was reading – Wall
Street Journals, of course, sometimes ten at a time!
He was quiet and humble with great compassion for his fellow
man. Few really knew him, his titles and
accomplishments meant little to him. To
most people he was just Bob…not a pilot, not a General, just Bob. He would often introduce himself as “Hi, my
name is Bob, with one O.” He never brought attention to himself, always willing
to let the other person shine...a rarity in today’s world. He was sentimental and a man of great
emotion, always wearing his heart on his sleeve and never afraid to cry with
tears welling up in those beautiful, expressive, and kind blue eyes. Possessing a deep moral conviction, he lived
his life believing that one should give freely to others, asking nothing in
return. He lived by the word of God as
he cared for his parents, his wife, his children and grandchildren, his
mother-in-law, and even a dear elderly friend in need. He did this in his own way, in his own
style.
Bob is survived by his loving wife, Gayle True Marcott, his
son Michael A. Marcott (Kaylee) of Granbury, TX
, daughter
Michelle Medina (Johnnie) of San Diego, CA, his brother Mike Marcott (Linda) of
Port Charlotte, FL, sister Cindy Macaluso (Jim) of Redmond, WA, adoring
grandchildren, Nick, Brody, Cooper, Kylie, Aidan, Ethan, Rennlee, and many
nieces and nephews. Bob always said that
the reason to have children is to have grandchildren.
Bob… son, husband, father, grandfather, brother and
friend…you will be forever missed. There
will always be a large hole in our hearts as you leave us longing for your
presence just one more time. We will
forever miss your sweet voice and your peaceful ways. What more can you say about this precious and
beautiful life that was taken so soon, yet with so much more to give. He was simply our Bob, our very special
Bob. We love you.
Godspeed, my Sweet Bear.
