Colonel Robert Charles Breckenridge
1930-2025

Parishioner Bob Breckenridge died last month, and all are invited to attend a memorial service for both Bob and Nola at 11:00am today, January 16, at Saint Philip’s. A reception in the Murphey Gallery will follow.

O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered: Accept our prayers on behalf of your servant Bob, and grant him an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer, Burial of the Dead, Rite II

Bob’s (Rob) life began on October 20, 1930 in the rolling hills of Fairmont, West Virginia. Born to James (Clark) and Caroline Breckenridge, he would be the only child of their long marriage.

The new family, confronted by the depths of the Great Depression, moved constantly looking for employment and a home. They finally found work and some stability in the late 1930s in the Civilian Conservation Corps Camps in Wyoming and Army Reserve postings in Kansas.

With the arrival of World War II, Bob’s father was called to active duty and sent to Europe to fight with the 8th Infantry Division at Normandy and in the Battle of the Bulge. His father’s service had an enormous impact on Bob.

He grew to love the travel and Army lifestyle that his family pursued after the end of the war. Eventually this passion would lead to an appointment and his admission to the United Military Academy at West Point, NY. There he joined a band of brothers in company D-1 that would become his lifelong friends and confidants.

Shortly after graduating from West Point in June 1953, Bob married his college sweetheart Nola May Texley; their honeymoon would last for 68 years.

The newly minted artillery officer took his new bride off on a quick journey through Fort Sill, OK; Fort Hood, TX; Fort Bragg, NC; and, Baumholder, Germany. By 1957, Bob and Nola were back in the United States with two children, and four more years with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.

Bob loved the adventure, dash, and elan of being a paratrooper, and he would go on to complete 65 jumps and become a master parachutist. But the Army needed well rounded officers, and in 1961 Bob was selected to attend the Defense Language School at Monterrey, CA and become a Turkish linguist.

Armed with these new skills, Bob was deployed, without family, for a yearlong intelligence tour in Sinope, Turkey. Upon his return to the States he packed up his family in California and moved back to Fort Bragg for another stint in the 82nd Airborne Division.

By 1965 he was leading his troops to quell the civil war in the Dominican Republic. His outstanding service over this period led to his selection to attend the prestigious British Army Staff College in Camberley, England. At Camberley, Bob and Nola reveled in the social life and it was here they established another cohort of lifelong friends.

But Bob was restless and concerned he would miss the action that every soldier moves toward. The Vietnam War had escalated, and Bob moved the family back to the United States, and a subsequent assignment as an artillery battalion commander in Xuan Loc, Vietnam.

During the heavy fighting of 1967-68, Bob distinguished himself as a leader, earning the Legion of Merit, Air Medal and Bronze Star. He was then selected to attend the National War College in Washington, DC with a follow-on assignment as Chief of Staff, International Security Affairs (ISA) in the Pentagon. Undeterred by her arduous journey following Bob, Nola delivered their third child in 1969.

In the next decade Bob would finish his ISA assignment, be promoted to Colonel, and be reassigned along with his family on a four-year tour in Korea. Spending most of their time in Seoul, Bob and Nola built their third cohort of close personal friends and developed a lifelong love for Kimchi and Bulgogi.

Bob and family left Korea in 1978 and, with their arrival back in the States, decided to retire from the Army and take a position as the Chief of staff for a Texas Congressman. Always interested in the interplay of politics and national security, Bob thrived in the halls of Congress. But the lure of working independently and providing advice on politics and world issues proved to be the greater aspiration and Bob became an independent consultant on these issues through the 1980S and 1990s.

It was in this second phase of his professional and personal life, that bOB developed a love for cooking and good cheer. His Thousand Island Dressing, Bearnaise sauce, Watercress soup, lamb with mint jelly, lasagna, and taste for wines became legendary.

Travel was always an allure, and Bob and Nola became inveterate ocean cruisers, joining a great group from Good Shepard Church in Fairfax, VA. Bob was a constant presence in a growing family of new spouses and grandchildren, always curious about someone’s new job and where they might go next.

Bob’s service in the Army inspired three of his grandchildren to become Army officers, two serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. As he moved into retirement, the additional time gave him the opportunity to give back to his alma mater West Point, and he became the scribe and chief communicator for the 1953 class.

Never fans of cold weather, Bob and Nola moved to Tucson, AZ in 2005 and it would be here that they would live out their lives. Always active and on the move, Bob indulged his love of history, travel, and collecting a library of great films. Over the past two decades he served as an usher at Saint Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, and on the Building & Grounds Committee. He was devoted to his many friends at Saint Philip’s Church and up until his death they would take him to lunch once a month at a Korean restaurant.

Colonel Breckenridge passed away peacefully in his sleep on December 8, 2025. He is survived by his children: Jim (Missy), Betsy (Tom) Knoizen Bosworth, and Anne (John) Barrett.

His grandchildren are Katie Crombe, Lauren Knoizen, Annemarie Depue, Christopher Knoizen, Christine Schwartz, Will Barrett, and Lily Barrett. He is also survived by nine great grandchildren.

A community memorial service will be held for both Bob and Nola at 11:00am on Friday, January 16, 2026, at Saint Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, Tucson, Arizona.

A funeral and burial will take place in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia at a date later in 2026.