TUCSON, Arizona — Robert Alfred Earle, 83, died Nov. 17 after a long illness. A private interment will be held Tuesday, Dec. 1 at Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery at Marana. Rob was born July 1, 1937, in Concord, New Hampshire, to Charles “Ned” Earle (1908-63) and Lois Merrill Earle Pindar (1915-85), the first of four children. He grew up in Dunbarton, New Hampshire, and graduated from Concord High School in 1955. After a year at the University of New Hampshire, Rob enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1956. Rob completed his service in 1960 at the Marine Corps Base, Twentynine Palms, California. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in 1964. A week after graduating, Rob married Anne Patrice “Susie” Keen, with whom he had two children. Rob married Brenda Sutherland in 1989. While at Cal Poly, Rob began working part-time at General Dynamics in Pomona, and was hired full-time after completing his degree. His career designing and implementing missile defense systems spanned over 55 years, and he was sent to the east coast, Australia, South Korea and Taiwan to train users and to update and maintain systems. In 1977-78, Rob and his family lived in Israel while he set up defense systems for the Israeli government. While there, his faith in Jesus grew as he explored the historic sites of the Holy Land. Rob earned his M.S. in mathematics from Cal Poly in 1982 and continued working on defense systems as General Dynamics became Hughes Aircraft and then Raytheon Missiles and Defense. After more than 30 years living in southern California, his work moved Rob and Brenda to Tucson in 1994. In 1997, he returned to Israel to train the next generation of Israelis in updated systems. He retired as a senior scientist in 2014. Rob was an active leader and trainer for the Boy Scouts of America for many years. He was also a longtime volunteer for PALM, the Pan American Literature Mission in Tucson, maintaining the organization’s database and writing lessons for its Bible correspondence courses. He was a member of Saguaro Canyon Church in Tucson. Survivors include his wife Brenda; a daughter, Elizabeth Earle of Glendora, California; a son, Charles (Suzie) Earle of Beaverton, Oregon; two grandchildren, Katherine and Robert D. Earle of Beaverton, Oregon; two stepchildren, Diane Sutherland of Trinidad, California and David Sutherland of Lindale, Texas; a sister Pat (Ron) Dulude of Abilene, Texas; as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his sister Merrillyn Earle in 2011 and brother Jack E. Earle in 2017. Memorial gifts may be made to the Pan American Literature Mission, 5215 E. Fort Lowell Rd., Tucson, AZ 85712. Bring’s Broadway Chapel in Tucson is handling funeral arrangements. A memorial service will be held at Saguaro Canyon Church, 10111 E. Old Spanish Trail on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 1:30 p.m. Please bring your stories, anecdotes and pictures to be included in a Remembrance Book.