Robert L. Atherley Sr., 77, of Knob Noster, Missouri, died Saturday, March 21, at Ridgecrest Nursing Center in Warrensburg, Missouri.

Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at the Faith Lutheran Church in Knob Noster with Vicar Kevin Ray officiating.

Interment will follow at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Higginsville with full military honors.

He was born April 11, 1937, in Los Angeles, the son of Owen and Mildred (Hutchinson) Atherley.

He was united in marriage to Marie Frenzel on June 9, 1959, in Chaumont, France.

Robert was a graduate of San Marcos High School in San Marcos, Texas. He then joined and served in the U.S. Air Force for 22 years from 1957 to 1977. He was stationed in France where met his wife, Marie. Robert served in Vietnam from August 1968 to August 1969 and was transferred to Whiteman Air Force Base. He later moved to Knob Noster and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg. He was a member of the Faith Lutheran Church in Knob Noster.

Robert is survived by his wife, Marie; two sons, Robert Atherley Jr., of Richland, Mississippi; and Lynn Alan Atherley; one daughter, Marie Sanchez, and husband, Raul Albert, of Denver; three granddaughters, Caitlin Jones, Jaclyn Crowe and Beanna Gonzales; three  great-grandsons, Aden, Gavin and Jaxson; one stepbrother and one stepsister.

Memorial contributions are suggested to the Faith Lutheran Church in Knob Noster and can be left in care of the Sweeney-Phillips and Holdren Funeral Home in Warrensburg.