Robert Dunning Vought

Robert Dunning Vought, Bob, passed away peacefully after a brief illness at his Benbrook, TX, home on January 20, 2025. He was born in White Plains, New York, on September 15, 1931, to Bertha Edna and Raymond Dunning Vought. Older brother John Vought welcomed him home to Peekskill, NY, where he lived for the first 18 years of his life. Bob was active in Scouts, his church, his school glee club, and choirs, and he worked at Vought Furniture Store, eventually serving as a delivery driver. He was an accomplished musician, primarily playing the piano. He made lifelong friends with boys he met in scouts and church.

Bob followed older brother John to St. Lawrence University, where he studied business, but if you asked him, he learned to ski and enjoy life with his fraternity brothers mostly. After graduation in 1953, Bob joined the United States Navy, attending officer candidate school and then serving as a navigator. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant while serving on a supply ship in the Mediterranean during the Korean War. During leave one time, he met the love of his life, Mary Joy Hill, on a blind date, asking her to marry him on just the second date. After he was discharged, the two wed and settled back in Peekskill, on Cortlandt Street, across the street from his parents.

Bob attended Columbia School of Business, graduating in 1958 with a Master of Science in Business, months before their first child, Jennie Lynn, was born. Bob was hired immediately after graduation by the accounting firm of Arthur Young, where he served as a management consultant. Bob and Mary Joy welcomed their second child, Roxana Kay, Roxie, in 1960. Bob was transferred to the brand-new Houston office of AY in 1965, where the family settled in "rural Texas," aka Spring Branch, outside of Houston. Son Thomas Christian was born shortly thereafter.

The family joined Memorial Drive United Methodist Church soon after moving to Houston. Bob served in many capacities on the MDUMC Parrish-Staff Relations and Finance Committees. While in Houston, Bob and Mary Joy made many lifelong friends, with whom they began to travel around the country and the world. Their conversion van made many trips to National Parks and Wyoming with dear friends. After becoming a partner, Bob was transferred to the New Orleans office of AY in 1978. The family settled into a close-knit group of neighbors, affectionally known as the Chateau Rothchild gang. These new friends joined the Houston friends to become one big group of friends who traveled and experienced life to its fullest. Bob and Mary Joy's home in Kenner became a focal point of parties, with extended family and loved ones coming frequently to experience Mardi Gras and any other holiday they could find to celebrate. Bob and Mary Joy had a knack for making everyone feel like they were a part of the Vought Family, from cousins to friends of Jennie, Roxie, and Tom, even to other Arthur Young employees.

In 1983, Bob was transferred again to the Ft Worth office of AY. The family moved to a house overlooking a golf course in Benbrook, TX, where they lived until he died in 2025, the longest he ever lived in one place. Bob worked for AY through the merger with Ernst and Whinney that occurred in 1989. He moved to the Dallas office, where he worked until his "first" retirement in 1991. After retirement from Ernst and Young, Bob began a second career as a consultant, working for Tuesday Morning, then Ace World Companies. The owner of Ace was so taken with Bob's expertise that he hired him, a job which he held until his "second" retirement. It should be no surprise that Bob and Mary Joy again made terrific friendships with not only the Ace employees but also the neighbors in Ridglea Country Club Estates, and they welcomed them to the “great circle of lifelong friends begun in Peekskill” many years ago.

Jennie and Roxie ended up in Houston with the five grandchildren, Marcie, Leslie, Graham, Christian, Russell, and many other "adopted" grandchildren. Bob and Mary Joy burned up the highway between Ft. Worth and Houston to attend every event they could for the family. They became regular attendees of MDUMC again, thanks to the magic of Zoom. Bob became Daddy Bob and Mary Joy Mama Joy to this growing family. Tom moved back home in 2015 to help care for Mary Joy, and grandson Russell joined them in 2021 to help care for Bob and MJ. The family greatly appreciates that this enabled Bob and MJ to stay in their Benbrook home for the last few years.

Bob is preceded in death by his parents, Bert and Ray, as well as his brother John, his beloved wife Mary Joy, daughter Jennie Baker, and son-in-law Mike Baker. He is survived by his son Tom, daughter Roxie Allen and husband Mike Allen, grandchildren Marcie Baker and fiancé Tommy Chenault, Leslie Neal and husband Colton Neal, Graham Baker and wife Jennifer, Christian Allen and wife Maddie, Russell Allen, great grandchild Parker, and extra children and grandchildren, Pete Dahlberg, Deontae Cook, and many more.

The family would like to thank Comfort Keepers of Fort Worth for caring for Bob and MJ during their last stages of life.