Robert Gianella

Robert (Bob) Gianella died on October 5, 2021, peacefully in his sleep with his wife by his side. There will be a celebration of life at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church on Tuesday October 12, at 2:00 pm, following a graveside service and a reception at the Gianella home. The Reverend Aaron M.G. Zimmerman, the Rector of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, will preside. Bob, as he was known to friends and acquaintances, was born in Peekskill, New York, a small town in Westchester County. It is located in one of the most enchanting areas of America on the mountains overlooking the Hudson River Valley. His grandparents were immigrants from the Lake Como district in Italy. He was a proud member of the Boy Scouts and Explorer Scouts. Bob cherished being a Boy Scout and embraced the positive values of that organization. He attended a Catholic elementary school and graduated from Peekskill High School in 1956. He was the President of the student body and participated in football, baseball, and basketball athletics. Bob was voted the most handsome guy in the high school. He was proud to represent New York state at the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Although West Point Academy is a few miles from Bob’s boyhood home, he rejected that path and chose Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. Bob stated that his experience at VMI was the most challenging that he ever encountered. He was President of the Office of the Guard Association at VMI in 1960 and President of the chemistry club in 1960. He graduated with honors from VMI in 1960 and later became a member of the US Army Association. Bob served as a Captain in the Air Force at the Air Force Plant 66, Rocketdyne in McGregor, Texas, from 1960-1963 with Air Force Systems Command. During the Cuban Missile Crisis under President J. F. Kennedy, Bob received urgent orders to fly to Mira Loma, California, to be a Liaison Project Officer for the Solid Propellant Air Launch Missile Systems when the world stood still in fear of a World War III. Bob and Betty met in Waco, Texas in 1962. It was a chance meeting in a restaurant. He was a handsome and charming second lieutenant in the Air Force. Betty was a young divorcee with a small child who taught school at Valley Mills High School. For her, it was a spellbinding fascination of his outrageous humor. She married him because he made her laugh. They married on April 17, 1965. In 1971, Bob became President and owner of Davis Coffee Company. The headquarters were in Waco with branch offices in Tyler, Austin, and Abilene, Texas. Bob became Regional Institutional Foods Master Distributer of General Foods & Beverage Corporation. He was appointed President of Distributer Council of General Foods from 1981-1987 and became a member of General Foods Beverage Advisory Board from 1989-1994. We were fortunate enough to be invited to attend the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada and The Masters in Augusta, Georgia. As far as travels go, we both loved Italy and found Paris to be a dream come true. Bob became program director for Inner City Ministries from 1971-1979. He presided over Inner City Ministry summer camps in 1979. He became planning chairman for indigent children. He and Betty volunteered and worked for Inner City Ministries in the 1970s. Bob was appointed as a member of Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center (HBMC) Development Board. He became Chairman of HBMC of Visitors in 1999. He participated in Vision of Excellence program of HBMC. Bob and Betty donated rooms for the Kidsville project for HBMC. He was appointed Treasurer for HBMC Foundation from 2004-2006. Bob and Betty and family joined St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in 1968. Bob served on the Vestry for 3 years at St. Alban’s: 1974-75 and 1983-85. He served as senior warden at St. Alban’s Episcopal church in 1976. Bob and Betty became patron members of the Art Center, the Lyric Opera of Waco, and the Waco Symphony Association, and members of the Waco Historic Foundation. They both served as chairmen in the Art Auction “Air of the Orient” in 1979. Bob and Betty became members of Ridgewood Country Club and he became President of RCC in 1998. Bob was a prolific reader with interests in history ranging from ancient Roman and Greek times through the Civil War. He was a scholar of Stonewall Jackson and gave presentations on his life. He was also a collector of art, books, canes, hats, and ancient coins. Bob was most proud of his Italian heritage. After investigating his lineage, Gabrielle, his daughter, traveled to Italy to research the Gianella genealogy and discovered that he is descended from a lineage of noble counts. He was so moved that he made t-shirts, hats, jackets, and flags to demonstrate his family crest of nobility. Bob was many things to many people: an actor, optimist, humorist, salesman, philanthropist, historian, polymath, and benevolent to the impecunious and the disenfranchised. I have saved the best for last: Bob’s humor. He had an outrageous sense of humor! Bob could spin a tail off a donkey. He could pull off practical jokes and witty stories in a New York minute. He was so convincing that he convinced a waiter that his pet poodle was a little man in a dog suit at a local diner. After a long explanation he convinced the waiter that our dog was indeed a little man in a dog suit and we were able to stay and have lunch and share our food with our pet dog. Bob was really good at imitation. He could become a kooky character as fast as I would say, “You can’t do that!” and his character would reply, “You wanna bet?” His sense of humor and imagination can be illustrated by the following story he narrated: “On a warm Friday morning in June 1975, Betty and I were getting ready for a trip to the National Restaurant Association convention in Chicago,Illinois. However, we were running a little late; but I knew we would be on time for our flight out of the DFW airport. “My loving, perfect wife told me that we would not be on time for the flight. So, I bet her $100.00 we would be on the flight. She accepted the bet. After a very safely driven trip from Woodway to DFW airport, we found our flight to Chicago in process of leaving the gate. So, I realized I have to become imaginative- very imaginative! I became Dr. Robert J Gianella, the head of brain surgery at the Baylor Medical Center, Houston, Texas. I told the rather negative airline agent that I had to meet my surgical team in Chicago at the Chicago University Center to perform surgery on the CEO of Sears and Roebuck Corp. The CEO was suffering from a massive tumor on his brain and if not operated on by me and my team before 8:30 pm that night the patient would die. Next, I informed the agent that his management would not be very happy with him when they were informed that he was responsible for the CEO’s death. I guaranteed him I would inform his supervisors that a huge lawsuit would occur against his airline and him by Sears and Roebuck if he refused to help save the patient’s life. The agent thought about the situation for about five seconds and proceeded to call back our flight to the gate and put us on the flight. At this point, Betty looked extremely concerned about my going to jail- not missing the flight. I told Betty, “BIG, BIG lies usually work- small lies, not so much.” And boy! Were we (really me) involved in a hell of a BIG LIE! While we waited for the plane to return to the gate, I kept flexing my fingers and looking into a blank notebook. I thought that is what a brain surgeon would do. Once we boarded the plane, the flight attendant announced anyone giving up their seat would receive $400 and a ticket on the next flight to Chicago. Betty ended up getting a seat in First Class. I was seated in the tourist section between two half-drunk restaurant owners from Texas. Of course, they wanted to know who I was and why I was so influential to get a plane to return to the gate. I told them my cover story and they would see in the Chicago airport signs of my name to take me directly to the Medical Center. Those two guys said they were Roman Catholic and were worried if the Pope would live as he was recently shot in Rome. I flexed my fingers, gazed up to the ceiling and then informed them: ‘THE POPE WILL LIVE!’ They were thrilled and wanted to buy me a drink or three. I cordially refused because I had to perform major surgery in a few hours. P.S. If I tried this today, I would now be in prison forever. Thank you, 9/11 – you rats ruined so much fun!” An enormous thank you to Dr. Gary Barbin for providing outstanding medical care throughout most of his adult life. Endless gratitude to his wonderful and loving caregivers: Patricia Essmail, primary caregiver, an extraordinary person of many talents, and the very patient and compassionate Amari Hill, of Visiting Angels. Bob was preceded in death by his parents John and Ann Gianella. He is survived by his wife, Betty; two children, Stephnie Connell and husband, Stephen, and Dr. Gabrielle Gianella, and partner, Cinthya Rogers; three grandchildren, Christian Connell, of Houston, Texas, Isabella Connell, and Debbie Guzman, of Austin, Texas. He had many close friends in Waco and relatives in Peekskill, New York. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to St. Alban’s Episcopal Church 305 N. 30th St., Waco, Texas 76710 or The Humane Society of Central Texas, 2032 Circle Rd, Waco, Texas 76706. The family invites you to leave a message or memory on our “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.