Robert Dean Shilling

 Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie, Glad did I live and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will. This be the verse you grave for me: Here he lies where he longed to be, Home is the sailor, home from sea, And the hunter home from the hill. ——Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Dean Shilling went home on February 23, 2025. He began his journey on January 11, 1955, at Ponca City, Oklahoma, the son of Clifford B. Shilling, Sr. and Elsie Taylor Shilling. While it is difficult to capture the essence of a man in a few lines from an obituary, maybe you can note some trends and draw your own conclusions. As a toddler, Rob’s eating preferences were, at best, questionable. His favorite snacks were raw potatoes and raw hotdogs. Despite his odd food cravings he thrived and attended Liberty Elementary School where he met and made life long friends among his fellow students and favorite teachers—Mrs. Stumbaugh, Mr. Wright and Mrs. Howell. While at Liberty he also discovered the sport of football and his passion for raw potatoes and raw hotdogs was replaced by the post-game Lotaburger. Despite his changing and expanding palate his love of football remained throughout his life. He would play for West Jr. High and then out on the hill he played on the line for the Ponca City Wildcats where he would learn many valuable life lessons under the tutelage of his coach, Jerry Runyan. Rob’s attitude was once a Wildcat always a Wildcat. During his senior year the Wildcats defeated their arch enemy and proverbial nemesis, the Enid Plainsmen. Rob and the Wildcats couldn’t have been happier if they had won the Super Bowl. Rob left the familiar environs of Ponca City to further his education at Stanford University. While at this bastion of enlightenment the streaking phenomenon was racing across college campuses nation wide. Rob’s dorm decided to streak the Golden Gate Bridge as the Bay Are Runners Extraordinaire, Association of Stanford Students (the acronym being BARE ASS.) Rush hour traffic was brought to a standstill while the San Francisco television stations and newspapers covered the event. Rob’s picture, along with his derby hat and smile, made the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle along with a bevy of his fellow streakers. When his mother saw the picture she immediately recognized his bare bottom. We were impressed but she said she knew his cheeks instantly because she had powdered and diapered them and a mother doesn’t forget. Rob then relocated to Norman, Oklahoma, to attend the University of Oklahoma where he pledged a fraternity noted for its intramural football prowess. They practiced hard, partied too much, occasionally attended class and won the school championship. Needing additional money, Rob became a waiter at Legend’s, an upscale Norman bistro, with an all greek wait staff, where he acquired a taste for eggs Benedict and bloody Marys. Always eager for the next adventure Rob chucked the frat life and became a bartender at O’Connell’s Irish Pub when it was the place to be in Norman. He also acquired the Pub’s top secret chili recipe which, unfortunately, he takes to the grave. From the Pub he went to work for Santa Fe Rail Railroad and became a union man when he joined the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes as a gandy dancer, a steel-driving John Henry job, where he swung a spike maul to drive spikes into the railway ties. He laid track from Kansas to Texas. From his time on the railroad steel gang Rob became a connoisseur of greasy spoon blue plate specials and spicy Mexican vegetable soup brought north of the Rio Grande by Mexican Railway workers. From Santa Fe Railroad he returned to Ponca City, and now being a committed union man, joined the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union. In short fashion he worked his way up from the yard at Conoco Refinery to operator trainee and became a customer of the chicken fried steak at Cobbs Cafe. An operator at the refinery was a dream job but Rob’s wanderlust was not yet abated and he joined the Navy to see the world. He had always lived like a sailor in port, so in many ways he was just legitimizing his lifestyle. He was a blue water sailor who explored the world of the southwest Pacific and many Asian ports of call. He was a navigator with the rank of Petty Officer 1st Class. He would spend nine years in the Navy and discover that he loved the sea. He acquired a dragon tattoo in Hong Kong and expanded his epicurean bent with sushi in Japan, kimchee in Korea and meat on a stick in the Philippines. A highlight of Rob’s naval career was the invasion of Russia. In the fall of 1983 Russia shot down a Korean Airliner. Rob was on a Rescue and Salvage ship that was part of a task force sent to look for the airliner’s black box. The admiral in charge of the task force called all ship’s captains to a meeting on the flagship. During the meeting Rob continued to plot his ship’s location because they were immediately adjacent to Russian territorial waters. He discovered that due to currents and wind they were quickly drifting toward Russian waters. He informed the navigation officer who told him he must have made a mistake because the flagship would not allow them to get so close to Russian waters. It turns out the flagship chose that moment to perform navigation equipment maintenance and the task force was, in deed, drifting into Russian waters. Suddenly Russian frigates and destroyers were swarming the area and loud speakers informed the task force that it was in Russian waters and should prepare to be boarded. The task force beat a hasty retreat to international waters and would live to fight another day. Because Rob did truly love the sea he next signed up to become a mate on a merchant ship but fate intervened and he went home to Oklahoma to help his father who was experiencing health issues. Rob entered the next phase of his life as a logger in southeast Oklahoma where he enjoyed catfish and venison back strap and almost anything fried. Logging is hard work and Rob was getting a little long in the tooth so he looked around for a profession that didn't expose him to the elements and hard, heavy lifting. He found the program in Radiologic Technology. After training at Meridian Technology Center he became a registered Rad Tech at hospitals in Stillwater, Cushing and Antlers, eventually becoming Director of the Radiology Department at Pushmataha County Hospital in Antlers. Rob was still employed there when he was called home.Rob was predeceased by his parents; his nephew, Allen Hensley; and his niece, Kimberley Oldham. He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Clifford Shilling, Jr. and Jamie Childs Shilling; his adopted sisters, the Fabulous Baker Girls, Kim DeHaven and Kristy Rogers; nephews, Taylor Shilling and Brennon Hensley; nieces, CreCre Oldham, Mahiya Shilling Mesa and Helen Paige Opper; great nieces, Ruby and Violet Hensley; and great nephew, Ramon Wesley Taylor Mesa; and many beloved cousins and extended family members from the Taylor, Little Eagle and Shilling families.Rob was an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation and also of Choctaw heritage. His Pawnee name is Kuruks Takah, which translates to White Bear. Rob was a member of the Kitkehahki Band and also of Skidi descent. He is a direct descendant of Pawnee Chief White Eagle and renowned Pawnee Scout, Arusa To-tah-it, Robert Taylor. His grandparents are: William Columbus Shilling and Mary Jane Kelly Shilling; Jobie Taylor; Paul Little Eagle and Julia Murie Little Eagle.When Rob stopped traveling the world he proudly served as Vice President of the Pawnee Indian Veterans Association. He was also the worlds best uncle. He took nieces and nephews to many events over the past thirty years ranging from innumerable circuses, to the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, the Toronto International Film Festival, major league baseball games, the OU-Texas game, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Pawnee Indian Veterans Doings, church (both Baptist and Methodist) and much more. He has entertained us all with his stories of the sea. A better man could not have died and we will miss him dearly.