Robert is the son of Theodore J. Speaker Sr (deceased 1984) and Mena B. Speaker (deceased 1997). He is the second of six children, the first, Billie Lee Speaker died a few days after birth. Robert was born at home thru a midwife. Theodore J. Speaker, Jr (deceased July 8 2021), James Douglas Speaker (deceased August 12, 2002), Patricia Speaker Bennett and Shirley Speaker Baer followed.
Robert joined the U.S. Army in 1963 and went to Fort Polk, Louisiana and then to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri before he was stationed in Germany. He was discharged in 1965 and married Sherril Heiman (Shirley's best friend from school). They had two children, Robert Lee Jr. and Julie Ann Speaker (deceased March 2014). Robert went to work welding inside giant pipes for over 20 years. One day in September, 1993, he fell in the shower and was rushed to the E.R. and was told he had a swollen brain. Further testing showed cancer in the kidney and other organs and the brain. The family moved to Houston, Texas where they would be close to M.D. Anderson Hospital and Cancer Center. He underwent chemotherapy and radiation. In April he was put in hospice care and his wife took care of him. She took care of him the entire time he was ill. On Sunday May 22 she couldn't find a pulse. She called hospice and he was pronounced dead. He was cremated and his ashes remain with his wife. She has never remarried. She went to work in a Nursing Home not far from where they lived and takes care of others as an LVN.
Robert joined the U.S. Army in 1963 and went to Fort Polk, Louisiana and then to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri before he was stationed in Germany. He was discharged in 1965 and married Sherril Heiman (Shirley's best friend from school). They had two children, Robert Lee Jr. and Julie Ann Speaker (deceased March 2014). Robert went to work welding inside giant pipes for over 20 years. One day in September, 1993, he fell in the shower and was rushed to the E.R. and was told he had a swollen brain. Further testing showed cancer in the kidney and other organs and the brain. The family moved to Houston, Texas where they would be close to M.D. Anderson Hospital and Cancer Center. He underwent chemotherapy and radiation. In April he was put in hospice care and his wife took care of him. She took care of him the entire time he was ill. On Sunday May 22 she couldn't find a pulse. She called hospice and he was pronounced dead. He was cremated and his ashes remain with his wife. She has never remarried. She went to work in a Nursing Home not far from where they lived and takes care of others as an LVN.
Robert is the son of Theodore J. Speaker Sr (deceased 1984) and Mena B. Speaker (deceased 1997). He is the second of six children, the first, Billie Lee Speaker died a few days after birth. Robert was born at home thru a midwife. Theodore J. Speaker, Jr (deceased July 8 2021), James Douglas Speaker (deceased August 12, 2002), Patricia Speaker Bennett and Shirley Speaker Baer followed.
Robert joined the U.S. Army in 1963 and went to Fort Polk, Louisiana and then to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri before he was stationed in Germany. He was discharged in 1965 and married Sherril Heiman (Shirley's best friend from school). They had two children, Robert Lee Jr. and Julie Ann Speaker (deceased March 2014). Robert went to work welding inside giant pipes for over 20 years. One day in September, 1993, he fell in the shower and was rushed to the E.R. and was told he had a swollen brain. Further testing showed cancer in the kidney and other organs and the brain. The family moved to Houston, Texas where they would be close to M.D. Anderson Hospital and Cancer Center. He underwent chemotherapy and radiation. In April he was put in hospice care and his wife took care of him. She took care of him the entire time he was ill. On Sunday May 22 she couldn't find a pulse. She called hospice and he was pronounced dead. He was cremated and his ashes remain with his wife. She has never remarried. She went to work in a Nursing Home not far from where they lived and takes care of others as an LVN.
Robert joined the U.S. Army in 1963 and went to Fort Polk, Louisiana and then to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri before he was stationed in Germany. He was discharged in 1965 and married Sherril Heiman (Shirley's best friend from school). They had two children, Robert Lee Jr. and Julie Ann Speaker (deceased March 2014). Robert went to work welding inside giant pipes for over 20 years. One day in September, 1993, he fell in the shower and was rushed to the E.R. and was told he had a swollen brain. Further testing showed cancer in the kidney and other organs and the brain. The family moved to Houston, Texas where they would be close to M.D. Anderson Hospital and Cancer Center. He underwent chemotherapy and radiation. In April he was put in hospice care and his wife took care of him. She took care of him the entire time he was ill. On Sunday May 22 she couldn't find a pulse. She called hospice and he was pronounced dead. He was cremated and his ashes remain with his wife. She has never remarried. She went to work in a Nursing Home not far from where they lived and takes care of others as an LVN.
