Bob McFall, 78, passed away Dec. 30, 2024, in Woodburn, Ore.
Bob was born to B.R. “Blackie” and Ruth McFall on May 6, 1946, in Fort Scott, Kan.
Growing up directly behind Fort Scott High School, Bob was able to enjoy an active childhood with practice fields, backstops, tennis courts, and a creek just steps away from home. As a teen, he took on the responsibility of being a paper carrier for the Fort Scott Tribune for six years and working at Whitesides IGA.
After graduating from Fort Scott High School in 1963, Bob attended Fort Scott Community College for a year before transferring to Kansas State Teachers College in Pittsburg, now known as Pittsburg State. At Pittsburg State, Bob got involved singing in choir. The joy of singing remained with him for the rest of his life.
The Vietnam War interrupted his education and Bobby Reynolds McFall, as he legally was known, spent three years in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1970. While in Vietnam Bob was awarded a Bronze Star. In one of the numerous examples·of his selfless nature, Bob stayed a little longer in Vietnam than he would have needed to so his next youngest brother, John, would not be exposed to the draft for that year.
Returning from Vietnam, he married Kathy Hayes. They later divorced. The Army stationed him in Fort Lewis, Wash., for his final year of service.
After leaving the service, Bob trained as a special agent with Western Insurance. While in training with The Western, Bob was fortunate to spend some time working in the Kansas City office where he met Connie Clark Summers. Bob and Connie married and moved to Seattle where Bob started working as a special
field agent for The Western. After a year, Bob transferred to the Portland, Ore., office and there Bob, Connie, and their daughter Christy lived.
After working for The Western for five years, Bob had the opportunity to work for a specialty lines insurance company and made the move. After a couple of years there, Bob took a big leap. In 1981 he opened McFall General Agency. Working with a phone from a picnic table in his garage and a Rolodex of all the contacts he had established in his years working in the Pacific Northwest, Bob started his company. Eventually Connie and later Christy joined McFall General Agency. They grew the company to as many as 30 employees working out of a suburban Portland office, later adding an office in Seattle as well. Their company would place high risk or unique insurance with carriers of such as Lloyds of
London. During his time as president and owner of McFall General Agency, he served on the board of directors of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO). Bob also developed the training curriculum for the NAPSLO. In 2007 Bob and Connie sold their company and retired.
Although he worked very hard, Bob was not all about work. He travelled extensively both in the U.S. and internationally, he coached and umpired softball, officiated ski races, was involved in his church and his church choir. He spent time with Connie, Christy and his grandchildren Devon and Jaci at Cannon Beach, Oregon and later, after they built a beach home on the Pacific coast, at Rockaway Beach, Oregon.
Bob enjoyed life and the fruits of his labor and generously shared them with others. A few examples: He and Connie had Portland Trailblazer season tickets for years and generally shared them with friends and clients. An employee of McFall General Agency had a parent die and could not pay for the funeral.
He paid for it. Family members were in Las Vegas for a basketball tournament and he surprised everyone with tickets to a Backstreet Boys concert. He had a favorite Mexican restaurant in Aloha, the
Portland suburb where he, Connie, and Christy lived. When he went there, the waiter would ask everyone at the table what they wanted except Bob. He was a regular and he was going to get the same
thing so they did not bother asking.
In March of 2013, Bob had a stroke, which limited his ability to talk to maybe 10 words or so. It did not limit his ability to communicate. He could respond with an enthusiastic hi, a chuckle, yes and no and a
few more words and direct where he wanted to go. His family marveled how during visits to Oregon Bob would point and nonverbally direct them on where to turn as he rode along in the car, sometimes taking back roads that still resulted in everyone getting to the final destination. Although he was technically
non-verbal the last years of his life, he still could enjoy his love of singing. Hymns, rock songs from his youth and more.
Bob McFall lived life as builder of relationships, a builder of a business, with a sense of adventure and travel and of experiences that he could only have dreamed of growing up in a small Kansas town.
His mother, Ruth Hewett McFall, his father Bert Reynolds “Blackie” McFall, his wife Connie McFall, preceded
him in death. He is survived by his daughter Christy Jones, Washougal, Wash., his grandson Devon Jones, granddaughter Jaci Jones; his brother John McFall and sister-in-law Gina McFall of Olathe, Kan., and their five children Manda, Brett, Jeremy, Kimi and Clint; his brother Brent McFall and sister-in-law Gail McFall of Buckeye, Ariz., and their three children, Rebecca, Joshua and Brandon; his brother Brian McFall and sister-in-law Carol McFall of Lawrence, Kan., and their two children Allison and Mallory.
Graveside services for Bob will be at the Fort Scott National Cemetery on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at 12:30 p.m.
