Dr. F.R. "Bob" Searle

Dr. F.R. "Bob" Searle was born November 1, 1927 in Portland, Maine and passed away at St. Thomas River Park Hospital on March 3, 2018.  He is survived by his beloved wife, Dola Mae Bouldin Searle;  brother-in-law, John Bouldin and sister-in-law, Johnnie Bell Bouldin all of McMinnville and several nieces and nephews.Bob moved to Florida with his parents in the fall of 1941, just prior to WWII.  He was drafted in 1945 and managed to join the Marine Corps just before WWII ended.  During his time in the service, he served on eleven different ships and claimed that he got seasick on every one of them.After discharge from the Marine Corps, Bob enrolled in Georgia Tech.  Following graduation, he took a job with ARO, Inc. in Tennessee and was instrumental in the design and implementation of the engine test facilities at AEDC during the 1950's.Bob and Dola were married in 1959 and shortly afterward moved to Seattle, WA where they both took jobs with Boeing.  Bob was active in the design and testing of the Minuteman missile program at Edward's Air Force Base in California.  After two years in Seattle, Bob was transferred to Cape Canaveral, FL where he participated in the development testing of the Minuteman missile until 1963.In late 1963, Bob left Boeing to become Chief Engineer for NASA's Atlas-Agena unmanned launch program at Cape Canaveral where he participated in the launch of many unmanned spacecraft.  Some of the launches included "Project Ranger" which returned the first close-up pictures of the moon's surface, "Lunar Orbiter" which surveyed the moon's surface for possible landing sites for the Apollo manned spacecraft, and "Project Mariner" which included launches to Mars.While working in Florida, Bob managed to obtain a master's degree from the Florida State University and in 1968, he decided to leave his job with NASA to continue his education and entered FSU's doctoral program in Tallahassee, FL.At the completion of the doctoral program, Bob joined the faculty at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, FL where he taught both undergraduate and graduate classes until 1994 when he retired as Associate Dean of graduate programs.Bob was quite a sailor, and during his forty or so years in Florida, he sailed his thirty-two foot sloop back and forth to the many islands of the Bahamas as well as up along the East Coast of the country as far north as Cape Hatteras, NC and down to Key West in South Florida.  Most of those trips were quite enjoyable, but a few were forgettable, such as some of the stormy nights he spent sailing across the Gulf Stream dodging huge cargo ships.  Once, a hurricane chased him all the way from Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas to his home in Satellite Beach where he had just enough time to secure his boat before the hurricane hit the area.  In those days, before the advent of the GPS system, the only navigation aide was the compass and there were several times when on a stormy night, Bob wondered exactly where he was and what he was doing out in the middle of the Gulf Stream.  Bob loved sailing though and the islands of the Bahamas.Bob and Dola moved back to McMinnville in 1997 where they both became members of First Baptist Church.  They loved the slower pace of McMinnville and enjoyed their retirement here.  They both were very pleased with the progress of the city as evidenced by the Main Street program, the great new swimming pool complex and the Civic Center area with it's beautifully landscaped walking track.The funeral for Dr. Searle will be held at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, 2018 in High's Chapel with interment following at Gardens of Memory.  Dr. Jeff L. Owens will officiate.  Visitation with family and friends will be on Tuesday, March 6, 2018 from 11:00 a.m. until time of service at High Funeral Home.Online condolences may be made at www.highfuneralhome.com.High Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.  931-473-2137