Robert A. “Bob” Northey, Sr. passed away peacefully on October 16, 2019 after a long illness. Bob is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Lorrie and Paul Scott of Friday Harbor, WA, his son and daughter-in-law, Bob and Lisa Northey of Bellevue, WA, his grandchildren Jeff Northey (Apurna Somayajula) of Dartmouth, NH, Mary Northey (Peter Schoonmaker) of Seattle, WA, John Northey (Savannah Kehmeier) of Bellevue, WA and Patrick Northey (Ian McAdams) of San Francisco, CA, his great-grandson Henry Northey, and an extended family of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Bob was predeceased by his beloved wife of 54 years, V.J.
Bob was born on December 12, 1928 in Walkerville, Montana to Steve and Jennie Northey. Bob grew up in Ballard and graduated from Ballard High School in 1946. From an early age, Bob’s passion was flight, and growing up, Bob hung out at Boeing Field with his older brothers. He enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean Conflict and served as an air traffic controller at the U.S. Base in Tokyo. Bob followed his passion in choosing a career, retiring from Northwest Airlines after over 38 years in the airline industry.
An equal passion of Bob’s life was his wife, V.J. Bob met V.J. at West Coast Airlines in 1949 where she was a flight attendant, and Bob and V.J. spent much of their life together traveling the world. Bob was an enthusiastic fan of the Seahawks, Mariners and U.W. Huskies, and was very happy that his Seahawks beat Cleveland on Sunday.
Bob’s family wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks to the staff of Peter’s Creek Retirement Center in Redmond, WA for the loving care they provided Bob during the last years of his life and Evergreen Hospice. A private family memorial will be scheduled at a later date. Memorial contributions may be directed to The Museum of Flight. Friends are invited to view photos and share memories in the family’s online guestbook at www.flintofts.com. Flintoft’s Funeral Home, 425-392-6444.
