Dr. Robert Lee McEntyre Obituary (1944 - 2021)

Dr. Robert Lee McEntyre, 76, of Bloomington, passed away Wednesday, July 14, 2021 at his home. His funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, July 19, 2021 at St. Patrick Catholic Church of Merna, Bloomington. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Bloomington. Visitation will be from 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. Monday at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations be made to St. Patrick Catholic Church of Merna or to The Kids of St. Jude. Bob was born December 27,1944 in Riverside, California, a son of Claude Harmon and Kathryn Louise Gore McEntyre. He married Barbara Smith on September 23,1972 at Historic St. Patrick Catholic Church, Bloomington, and she survives. He is also survived by his two daughters, Laura (Jordan Valdez) McEntyre and Julie (Michael) Dancs; and two brothers, John (Marilyn) McEntyre and Tommy (Jennifer) McEntyre. He was preceded in death by his parents. Bob served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam era, earned his undergraduate degrees in Pre-Med and Chemistry at the University of Southern California, and graduated from Northwestern University School of Medicine. He served his internship at Cornell University Medical Center, continued his career as an emergency room physician at Mennonite, then BroMenn Medical Center in Normal, and retired from McDonough District Hospital in Macomb. Although he made his career in medicine, his true passion was drumming. Ever the perfectionist, he was always practicing some complicated rhythm even when he was not in front of a drum set. An avid jazz, blues, and Brazillian drummer, Bob was most recently playing gigs with Painkillers Blues Band in Champaign and Straight Answer Jazz Trio in Bloomington. In the words of Dr. Bob, "Music is love in search of words... and I have lots of love!"