Robert Earl Bancroft

Robert Earl Bancroft

d. September 22, 2017

Robert Earl (Hankins) Bancroft, 90, passed away on Friday, Sept. 22, 2017, after a short illness.

Robert (Bob) was born in Portland, Oregon, and was raised by loving family members Earl and Charlotte Hankins in Monterrey Park, California Bob graduated from Mark Keppel High School, Alhambra, California; Pasadena City College, Pasadena, California; and the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.

Bob enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served aboard the USS Ranger aircraft carrier as a radar operator during WWII. In his early professional career, he was employed for eight years as an investigator for the U.S. Civil Service Commission and then spent 26 years in sales and marketing at Dow Chemical Company in Los Angeles, California; Midland, Michigan; Dallas and then Houston, Texas, as an account manager.

Upon retirement, Bob moved to Boise, Idaho, to spend time with family members and there he married his wife Karen. The couple moved to Horseshoe Bay, Texas, in 1997. Bob and Karen were married for 23 years. He will always be remembered for his tender heart and his outreach to longtime and more recent friends over his lifetime.

He is survived by his loving and devoted wife Karen; daughter Marta Graves and son-in-law Ron Graves of Nueva Vista, California; son R. Jeffrey Hankins and daughter-in-law Loretta Hankins of Dripping Springs, Texas; daughter Robyn Carter and son-in-law Gaylord Carter of Lowell, Oregon; stepdaughter Colleen Harsin and son-in-law Marty Harsin of Sparks, Nevada; stepson Brian Chess and daughter-in-law Laura Chess of Mount Pleasant, Michigan; 11 grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Interment will be at the Mausoleum in Horseshoe Bay. No services are planned. Memorial contributions may be made to the Children’s Art Project at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 301435, Houston, TX 77230-1435.