Robert Gene Strickland

CHESTER Mr. Robert Gene Strickland, 89, of Chester, S.C. passed away peacefully on August 13, 2022, at home, surrounded by his loving family. A graveside service will be held at 10:00 AM, Saturday, August 20, 2022 at Chester Memorial Gardens with Pastor Rick Wheeler officiating. He was born on August 2, 1933 in Hendersonville, North Carolina, the son of Helen Byars Strickland. He grew up in Chester and graduated with honors from Chester High School in 1951. He immediately volunteered for service in the United States Air Force, serving during the Korean Conflict. Hoping to be trained as a mechanic, he was instead sent to radio technical school, where he finished at the top of his class. He ended his military service at McGuire Air Force base with the rank of Staff Sergeant. After his honorable discharge from the Air Force, he worked in Columbia, S.C. in two-way radio for several years before returning to Chester to start his own business, Catawba Communications Service. He provided two-way radio service for fire, police, and emergency services departments and local businesses in Chester, York, Fairfield, and Lancaster counties for over thirty years. Beginning in 1989, he was President of Richburg Communications, a business that owned and managed communications towers primarily in York and Chester counties. He finally retired in 2021. Learning was his hobby, and that love of learning is something he instilled in all his children and grandchildren. He was always quick to share something new he had learned or some book he had read. He took pride in the accomplishments of his family and their careers in education, health care, law, engineering, and plant sciences. He is survived by his wife of nearly seventy years, Virginia Gardner Strickland, his three children, Mary Strickland Atkinson (Ernie), Kathy Strickland Wright (Ed), and Robert Thomas Strickland (Peggy), six grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren, with a tenth due to arrive any day. He is also survived by his sister, Susanne Strickland Nazian (Stan), two nephews, and a grandnephew and grandniece. The family is grateful to Beth, Julie, Martha, and Vickie, his caregivers during his final months, and to Lori, Eva, and everyone else at Agape Hospice Care. We were all blessed by their compassion and care. Memorials may be made to Trinity Presbyterian Church, 651 Great Falls Hwy, Chester, S.C. 29706, Mercy Ships, PO Box 1930, Garden Valley, TX 75771, Agape Hospice Care of South Carolina, 404 W. Meeting St. Lancaster, SC 29720, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-1905. Online condolences may be made to the family at barronfuneralhome.com