Robert “Bob” Anson Brickley, 100

     Robert “Bob” Anson Brickley of Magnolia, Delaware, died October 9, 2026, in Dover. A retired Army Major, he served nearly 28 years across World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
     Bob was born June 17, 1926, in North Braddock, Pennsylvania, to Anson and Elizabeth Brickley, and grew up there and in nearby Wilkinsburg. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1944 and trained in the Army Air Corps as a gunner and flight engineer on B-24s and B-29s. As the war wound down, he moved to the medical side, serving as a hospital NCO at Fort Sam Houston caring for wounded soldiers.
     After his service in World War II, he attended the Universityof Pittsburgh and worked at the Carnegie steel mill. He re-enlisted in 1949 on the advice of a foreman who regretted leaving the service. Bob always said going back was the best move he ever made. In 1950 he served in Korea as a forward observer with the 555th Field Artillery Battalion of the 5th Regimental Combat Team at the Pusan Perimeter. He turned down a battlefield commission in the infantry, rose to Sergeant First Class, and earned a Bronze Star.
     The rest of his career tracked the Cold War. He became a Warrant Officer in West Germany, learning of his promotion while in a Jeep as his wife was giving birth to their son Reid. He manned anti-aircraft guns around Chicago, ran NIKE missile crews in South Dakota, received a direct commission to Captain, and worked on anti-ballistic missile development at Redstone Arsenal. In Vietnam in 1964 he tested helicopter armament and earned the Air Medal. He was promoted to Major at Aberdeen Proving Ground, then served in Mannheim, Germany, helped build an Ordnance school from scratch in Saudi Arabia, and ended his career at Letterkenny Army Depot. He retired in 1972 and settled in Dover, Delaware.
     Retirement didn’t slow him down. He worked for the phone company, Scott Paper, sold hearing aids, and ran a small home improvement business with his son Reid.
     Bob was loud, warm and very funny. He loved to sing, did the crossword every day for years, and never ran out of stories. He was proud that his sons Stephen and Reid and grandsons Sean and Thomas also served in the military. His children Stephen, Reid, David and Amy loved him fiercely and carry his strength and warmth with them always.
     In 1950 he married Virginia Jeanne Harner, the girl he spotted and fell in love with when she worked behind a Pittsburgh soda counter. She followed him to every military posting and raised their four children. They were married 58 years until her death in 2008. Finding love again after losing her was one of the great gifts of his life. He married Loretta Stayton in 2010, and she filled his last sixteen years with companionship and joy.
     He is survived by his wife, Loretta, and his children Stephen Brickley of Wescosville, Pennsylvania, Reid Brickley of Killeen, Texas, David Brickley (JoAnn) of Ridgefield, Connecticut and Amy Brickley (Matt Murray) of Seattle, Washington. His grandchildren are Suzanne Metrision (Todd) of Alburtis, Pennsylvania, Sean Brickley of Killeen, Texas, Elizabeth Gannon (Brian) of Woodbury, Connecticut and Thomas Brickley of Lake George, Colorado. His great-grandchildren are Luc LaFlamme, Makayla Hodlitch (Jake), Logan Gannon and Hannah Gannon. He also leaves a great-great-granddaughter, Rowan Hodlitch, with a great-great-grandson, Tobias Hodlitch, due in November. Also surviving is Diane Brickley, the mother of Stephen’s children. He was preceded in death by Virginia, his parents, his granddaughter Stephanie Brickley, and his sisters Evelyn, Olive, Beulah and Marion.
     Visitation will be held Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at Torbert Funeral Chapels, 1145 E. Lebanon Road, Dover, with a service at 11:30 a.m. Interment with military honors will follow at 2:00 p.m. at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Millsboro. Flowers are welcome.
     A hundred years, three wars, five generations of family, and a lifetime of stories. It was a remarkable life.