Robert Addy Van Nest

Robert Addy Van Nest Robert Addy (“Bob”) Van Nest was born in Windom, Minnesota on June 29, 1921 and died in Scottsdale, Arizona on April 1, 2017. Bob’s American heritage was long as he descended from grandparents who were among the first 30 settlers arriving on our shores in 1624 to build the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland (at Fort Orange, later Albany, New York). Later this group was the first to establish New Amsterdam, on Manhattan Island (New York City). Bob had a wonderful and fun childhood in Windom with his brothers, Dean and Brad, his parents, Ethel (Gillette) and Leland Van Nest, and his many friends and nearby relatives. He was particularly close to his grandfather, Robert Addy Van Nest, for whom Bob was named. Bob attended Windom High School where he played football and basketball, and he graduated in 1939. His father owned the local Dodge/Plymouth dealership, and he learned to drive at the age of seven. He was an adventurous young man, travelling by barge and hitchhiking with his brother Dean to the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. Bob entered the University of Minnesota in 1939, and was a student government participant and a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1943. After college, Bob entered the Navy where he served for 4 years. After attending supply officer school at Harvard University, he was assigned to the naval cruiser U.S.S. Pensacola where he served as paymaster and ultimately as the chief supply officer. Bob was fortunate to have survived the Iwo Jima and Okinawa Operations in 1945. The Pensacola suffered through six bombardments of Iwo Jima and one each at Haha Jima and Chichi Jima while he was onboard, and he lost many fellow sailors. He participated in the 1945 Occupation of Japan, and was one of the first American troops to enter occupied Japan. During his naval career he was awarded the Victory Ribbon - World War II, the American Theater Ribbon, 2 Asiatic-Pacific Stars and a Purple Heart. Bob often claimed to be the only Purple Heart recipient whose wound was treated with only a Band-Aid. Bob left the military in 1946 and returned to Minneapolis where he held various jobs in sales, and anyone who knew him would agree that he was a natural born salesman. By 1948 he was living in Chicago where he met his future wife, Dorothy Anne (Murphy) Van Nest, on a blind date. The couple married on December 18, 1948 and enjoyed over 68 years of marriage. Long-time residents of Western Springs, Illinois, Bob and Dorothy had three children. Bob spent his working career as president and owner of two companies in the air ventilation industry, Air Filter Engineering and Vesco. Working in Chicago during the 1950’s served him well and one of his first large accounts was to provide all air ventilation equipment installation and servicing for the Prudential Building in Chicago, completed in 1955. His businesses were very successful and went on to perform ventilation installation and servicing at many other Chicago landmark buildings. He sold his companies to a group of employees in about 1980. One of Bob’s greatest loves was golf. He was an avid player and long-time member and past president of LaGrange Country Club in LaGrange, Illinois. His golfing friends all became familiar with games like the “Van Nest Compleat with Junk”. He also worked as a rules official at 24 US Open golf tournaments. Bob was president and a tireless worker for the Chicago District Golf Association. He was a dedicated golf course rater for Golf Digest magazine, and he golfed at and rated many courses across the U.S. He had been a member of Desert Forest Golf Club in Carefree, Arizona since 1982. Bob was also a world traveller, proud to have visited every continent and over 150 countries and having played golf in 57 of them. He brought many wonderful stories home to his friends and family from his travels. Bob loved photography and sharing his extensive travel photography collection with others. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was always the life of any party. Those of us who knew him well would probably say that he had a wry smile as he passed away peacefully early in the morning on April Fools’ Day. Bob was extremely generous toward others, and he greatly enjoyed being with, helping and laughing with his friends and family. Bob is survived by his loving wife, Dorothy Anne Van Nest, of Scottsdale Arizona, and three children: Robert Van Nest, Jr. (Deborah Van Nest), of Piedmont, California; John Van Nest (Karla Van Nest) of Sierra Madre, California; and Nancy Van Nest (Cary Williams) of Groton, Massachusetts. Bob leaves behind his brother, Dean Van Nest, of Naples, Florida, and he was pre-deceased by his brother Brad Van Nest. Bob leaves six grandchildren: Rory and Drew Van Nest (Brandi Baughman), Carrie Anne and Elliot Van Nest, and Jorie and Nils Van Nest. He leaves two great-grandchildren, Travis and Brinley Van Nest. As the beloved family patriarch, he will be greatly missed by his many nieces and nephews and by all who knew him. A celebration of life reception will be held in Bob’s honor at Vi at Silverstone, 23005 N. 74th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85255 on Saturday, May 13, 2017 at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers donations may be sent to the Chicago District Golf Association Foundation online at www.cdgafoundation.org or by mailing to CDGA Foundation, Midwest Golf House, 11855 Archer Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439. The family will attend a military honor guard ceremony for Bob in May, and a memorial plaque will be placed in his honor at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, Cave Creek, Arizona.