Robert E. Palik

by Lynn McMillen
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Long-time Huntsville resident Robert E. Palik, 83, died on March 15, 2023, in an accident on the ski slopes of Banff, Alberta, Canada, while traveling with the Huntsville Ski Club. An avid skier since his college days, Bob had been a member of the National Ski Patrol for over 55 years. His primary passion was tennis, and he was captain of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) intercollegiate tennis team. He had been highly ranked in the Southern Tennis Association for both singles and doubles in Men’s 45, 55, and 65 age groups, and also garnered a gold medal at the Senior Olympics.

Bob was born August 25, 1939, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Emil Palik, M.D. and Frances Nelsen Palik. The family moved in 1946 to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Bob graduated from Central High School in 1957 and then attended MIT, earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Bob worked for Boeing in Seattle for twenty years, where an early assignment was working on the hydraulic actuators of tailfins on the Boeing 727.

Bob married Shirley Burns in November 1971 in Seattle. In 1982, they moved with their two children to Huntsville, Alabama to continue his career at Teledyne Brown, where he worked another forty years until his retirement a few years ago.

An active member of the community, Bob spent over thirty years in Toastmasters, taught step aerobics for over 15 years, and enjoyed the live music scene, particularly classical music and jazz. He shared his love for music by coordinating an event calendar for live jazz around Huntsville. Bob enjoyed traveling throughout North American and around the globe, often in the company of his daughter Mandy, exploring regions across Europe, Australia, Hawaii, and other far-flung destinations. He enjoyed sharpening his wits with many kinds of puzzles and loved trying his hand at various recipes, including his famous baked Brie.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Shirley. He is survived by his two children, Mandy and Jimmy, Jimmy’s wife, Emily, grandchildren, Penelope and Russell, and by his siblings Jim, Bill, Emily, Donald, and David. Bob kept a preternaturally youthful outlook and physical presence throughout his life. Bob’s home was enlivened by his feisty personality and sense of humor, and was a gathering place for family, friends, and beloved feline friends. He was an active member of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church for more than forty years and his remains will repose in the columbarium after his funeral on Saturday, March 25, at 11:00 AM.

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