Robert Henry "Bob" Peel, 89, of Hutchinson, passed away peacefully at his home, on Dec. 6, 2016. Bob was born Jan. 14, 1927, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Robert Henry and Lillie Mae (Garbett) Peel.

Bob spent most of his life in Hutchinson, graduating from Hutchinson High School in 1944, attending Hutchinson Community College for one semester, and then joining the United States Navy in 1945. When Bob was 18, he lost his mother to bone cancer; at 21, his father died of a heart attack. After his one and a half years of service to the United States Navy, he returned to Hutchinson and married his wife of 65 years, Esther "Lou" Benson, on Jan. 17, 1947. Lou died July 15, 2013.

Bob had a 67-year career with Peel's Salon Service. By 2010, Peel's Salon Service had grown to 700 employees, with four distribution centers and 60 stores.

In 1985, Lou, Bob Sr., Bob Jr., and Kris were on the hijacked TWA Flight 847. All family members survived the ordeal, but it changed their lives forever. Raising money and supporting multiple charities became a family focus. In 2013, the Bob and Lou Peel Allied Health Center at Hutchinson Community College was created.

Bob will be forever remembered by his family: children, Bob and Kris Peel, Bill and Susan Peel; grandchildren, Erin and Bart Kooiman, Erika and Darren Barnes, Evan and Austin Gurba, Eric and Michele Peel, Lindsay and Nick Marquardt; great-grandchildren, Cael, Ryland, Lincoln, Beckham, Tate, Henry, Hensley, Cooper, and Jordan; and countless local and regional beauty industry friends. Bob touched the lives of hundreds of people with his passion for the beauty industry. He was preceded in death by his parents.

After working until he was 86 years old, Bob lost his eyesight in 2012. Special thanks to all his caregivers who allowed him to stay in his home of 50 years, Hospice of Reno County, Jessica Lucas, who wrote his biography, and all his doctors. Also, special thanks to his friends, Dorothy Chadwick, Eileen Galliart, and Bob Graves, who dined almost every evening with him.

Funeral service will be 3 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, at Park Place Christian Church, 2600 N. Adams, Hutchinson, with Pastor David Dubovich presiding. Military honors will be conducted by the United States Navy Honor Guard. Private family burial will take place in Memorial Park Cemetery, Hutchinson. Friends may call from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, with the family present from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at Elliott Mortuary.

A Celebration of Life reception for all of Bob's friends will be held starting at 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, at the Hutchinson Town Club, 200 E. Sherman St., Hutchinson.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial to the Hutchinson Community College Endowment Association has been established. Online donations can be made to www.hutchcc.edu/alumni/online-giving or made out to the HCC Endowment, in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.