Robert Howard Grear, age 68, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 16, 2018. A devoted husband and father, Bob was married to the former Susan Stump of Murfreesboro, TN for almost 30 years and was the father of Mason Robert Grear of Murfreesboro. He is also survived by his father, Howard Mason Grear of Edmunds, WA; sister, Kimberly Grear of San Francisco, CA; sisters-in-law, Kathy Stump Huddleston and Mark DiNardo, and Lindy and Dan Arnette all of Murfreesboro; nieces and nephews, Liana and George Huddleston III of Orlando, FL; Anna, Peter, and Thompson Farmer of Norfolk, VA, Victoria and Daniel Arnette of Tampa, FL, and Grace Arnette of Nashville, TN.  Bob was preceded in death by his brother, Kevin Mason Grear in 1986 and his mother, Lillian Mae Grear in 2014.

Bob grew up in Burlington, NJ and was a 1968 graduate of Burlington High School. He demonstrated his leadership abilities early in life when he was a delegate of the American Legion Jersey Boys State, a member of the Drama Club, and member of the Burlington High School baseball team. A graduate of the State University of New York in Albany, Bob graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business where he was president of the Young Republican's Club.

Bob worked for Zayre Corporation in Atlanta, a division of TJ Maxx for more than 13 years until he and Susan married in 1988. He continued his executive career as Vice President of Distribution for both The Broadway Southern California and The Disney Stores. Bob's career continued when he joined Caldor Corporation in New Jersey as Assistant Vice President of Distribution. It was then that Bob and Susan moved to their beloved Little Silver, NJ where their son Mason was born.  They moved to Murfreesboro in 1999 to be near Susan's family. Bob took a position as VP Distribution with Moore-Handley in Birmingham, AL and commuted from Murfreesboro to Birmingham for several years. Later in Bob's career he took a logistics position with Cinram in LaVergne and in 2010 joined Technicolor in Memphis. Bob never backed down from a challenge and was an outstanding leader in the workplace.

Bob's love was for his family, tennis, travelling, food, the Philadelphia Eagles, and sports cars, more specifically BMWs and Porsches. A lover of classic rock, he enjoyed bands such as The Who, Chicago, and The Beatles, and artists Cat Stevens and Simon and Garfunkel.

Bob and Susan dated on the tennis court, and loved tooling around Atlanta in his 1963 Porsche 356. After Mason was born, he put a tennis racquet in Mason's left hand and had him out on the tennis court at a very young age, both in New Jersey and in Murfreesboro. Always the optimist, Bob lived his life with a smile and a true spirit of kindness.

Visitation with the family will be Wednesday, June 20, 2018 from 1:00pm until 3:00pm at Woodfin Memorial Chapel. A Celebration of Life will be held Wednesday, June 20, 2018 at 3:00pm at Woodfin Memorial Chapel. Family friend Tim Kelley will officiate. Bob attended North Boulevard Church of Christ.

Memorials may be made to Milligan College, Men's Tennis, PO Box 750, Milligan College, TN 37682 in memory of Bob.