James Robert “Bob” MacDonald, 75, of Richmond died Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020, at home, surrounded by his loving family.

Bob was born on July 31, 1945, in Kansas City, the son of Paul Rice and Marian Bernice (Hosman) MacDonald. He was united in marriage to Valerie J. Estes of Richmond on June 8, 1999. She survives of the home.

Additional survivors include: two sons, Christopher Paul (Evelyn) MacDonald of Mesa, Arizona, and Matthew Alan (Jessica) MacDonald of Lake Jackson, Texas; daughter, Catie (Ty) Tweedie of Kansas City; two brothers, Angus Joseph (Sylvia) MacDonald of Leavenworth, Kansas, and Glenn Charles (Guinde) MacDonald of Choctaw, Oklahoma; two grandchildren, Abigail Marie MacDonald and Jacob Christopher MacDonald; several aunts; and many cousins.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents; stepfather, Steve Super; and sister, Mary Suzanne Turner, and brother-in-law, Carl Turner.

Bob grew up in North Kansas City and went to North Kansas City High School. At age 15, he started working on the yard crew at KU Medical Center on Rainbow Avenue, riding three buses to get there.

At age 16, he worked at Bob’s IGA on North Oak Trafficway until graduation, walking to work from North Kansas City if he had no other way to get there.

Bob joined the U.S. Army after graduation at age 17 and served his country from 1963 to 1966. He was first stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, then Fort Gordon, Georgia, where he attended teletype operator school. Bob was stationed at Camp House, South Korea, from 1964 to 1965. He returned to the states to Fort Hood, Texas, and then served at Fort Polk in Louisiana, where he was honorably discharged.

Bob attended Southwest Missouri State University for one year, then attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City for four years. While in college, Bob worked for Cook’s Paint, the Flour Mill and QuikTrip. After college, he worked for Kroger Foods as a store manager and as a sales rep for Fleming Foods.

At age 31, Bob bought Jim Johnson’s store in Richmond. At age 33, he built Bob’s United Super, what later would become Apple Market in Richmond.

Bob was an active member of the Richmond Chamber and served as a board member and president. Bob was instrumental in starting the youth wrestling program in Richmond with Mike Elliott. He also was instrumental in starting the Mushroom Festival with Howard Hill, Harold Stroble and Jack Pointer. He was honored as grand marshall of the Mushroom Festival in 2017.

He was a member of the Richmond Kiwanis Club, coached two leagues of youth baseball and was a Cub Scout leader. Bob donated time, food and money to many high school events and booster clubs.

Bob was a role model and mentor to many young people he hired at the store, who went on to become successful people. No one would go hungry in Richmond if Bob had anything to do about it. He let many families charge food at the store so they would not go hungry.

Bob enjoyed riding motorcycles, golfing, fishing, Winston Lights and cheap Scotch. He will be deeply missed by the community, his family and friends.

The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the United Methodist Church of Richmond. They can be either dropped off or mailed to Thurman Funeral Home; 507 E. Main St.-P.O. Box 190; Richmond, MO 64085.

Visitation with funeral services were held on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020, at Thurman Funeral Home in Richmond, with visitation beginning at 1 p.m., followed by services at 3. Rev. Cathy Myers officiated. Burial was in Richmond Memory Gardens, with full military honors provided by the Army and the Ray County Veterans. Thurman Funeral Home in Richmond was entrusted with the ceremonies.

Please remember to share your memories of Bob with the family by visiting www.thurmanfuneralhome.com.