Robert Glynn Franklin

Robert Glynn Franklin was born in Marion, Kentucky in 1928. His father died in a mining accident when Robert was still a baby, and his mother, Laura Marie Turner Franklin, had to raise her sons by herself with no opportunities for employment. Yet, they had the love of extended family and Robert lived, as he frequently said, a wonderful and independent life to the age of 98. His last illness was terrible, but blessedly short.

Robert enlisted in the US Navy at the end of WW II. He served as an aviation mechanic and despite having gone to a one-room school in rural Kentucky, the GI bill allowed him to attend and graduate from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in business. He started a family legacy of Indiana University graduates and fans. Robert had a long career as an insurance adjuster, but he maintained a work-life balance before it was a well-known concept. He declined promotions so he could live in one community and have time for his own passions. He retired at age 62 and was able to enjoy decades of studying Civil War history, touring battlegrounds, and golfing with friends and family.

Robert was preceded in death by his wife, Norma Jean Campbell Franklin. Robert is survived and loved by three children and their spouses, five grandchildren and their spouses, and five great-grand-children. His progeny are Brenda (Franklin) and Mark Rodeheffer and their children, James and Amy Rodeheffer, Robert and Ashley Rodeheffer, and Laura (Rodeheffer) and Danny Kent; Carol (Franklin) and Robert Aubuchon; and Robert and Sharon Franklin, and their children, Katie (Franklin) and Zach Turner, and Michael Franklin.

Having outlived his friends and with extended family scattered across the United States, there will be a private celebration of his life for his immediate family. There will also be a spring family trip to scatter his ashes in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Battlefield Trust which preserves civil war heritage sites, or to the Disabled American Veterans.