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Robert Edmund Fahey (Bob) was born January 15, 1940 in Cleveland, Ohio to Mildred (Bower) and Walter Fahey. After his parents divorced when he was 2, he moved many times around the country with his mother, often in less than ideal circumstances. The two eventually relocated back to Cleveland to be near Bob’s grandmother, Elizabeth Bower, and his aunts and uncles, Evelyn (Bower) and Charles Delamater, Stan and Louis Bower, and Jim Bower.
After finishing high school in Cleveland, Bob entered General Electric's Management Apprenticeship Program. He worked for G.E. for three years and in 1961, the direction of his life was changed when he enrolled in Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, to pursue his newfound interest in biblical studies. In 1963, he was transferred to Ambassador's British campus in Bricket Wood, England.
In a single month in 1965, he graduated, was ordained into the ministry, and married Evelyn Thomas from Kalamazoo, Michigan. The couple's first pastorate was Glasgow, Scotland. Then in 1966 the Faheys were transferred to Melbourne, Australia to pastor the congregations in the states of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Joanna Marie and Jonathan Thomas were born in Melbourne in 1966 and 1968 respectively.
In 1969 they were transferred to Johannesburg, South Africa where Bob became Regional Director of Southern Africa. In 1972 their third child, Robert Benjamin, was born in Johannesburg. From 1976 to 1978, Bob served as Regional Director for all of Africa.
Other assignments included Regional Director of Canada in 1980, executive assistant to Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, pastor of four congregations in and around New York City during the mid-1980s, and Regional Director of Australia & Asia in 1986. While serving in Australia, he also enjoyed caring for our congregation in Hong Kong. In 1990, Bob and Evelyn returned to their Midwest roots as pastor of the Chicago congregation, a post he held for the last 25 years.
On a personal side, many have commented over the last few days that Bob was larger than life, a true extrovert with a full social calendar, exuding energy and determination. He loved to study books on business management, history, human development and more, but his passion was studying the Bible. Through the years he developed extensive studies on most of the books of the New Testament, as well as many biblical studies with general life applications. In his youth, friends and family have commented that he “had a cool haircut, drove a cool car and listened to cool music”. In his twenties and thirties friends shared that he was “a man’s man” and “macho”, “a constant swirl of activity and energy”. In his forties and fifties he was known as “a man with deep conviction", "having amazing drive and resiliency" and "a strategic mind with a laser focus on results”. In his sixties he was known as a man with growing “wisdom, maturity, strength and love”, “willing to learn from others” and “open to trying new approaches”. In his seventies he was described as having “silver fox hair, holding a cane”, and “a dedicated husband to an ailing wife”.
In June 2015, the couple was honored with a special church tea to note the 50th anniversary of Bob's ordination as an elder. It was a meaningful time for the couple and they fondly reminisced on their many travels and the friends they had enjoyed together through the years. The following week on July 3, 2015, Bob hosted a celebratory dinner for his bride and their family to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.
On Monday, September 28, first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Robert E. Fahey, 75, died unexpectedly. He was recovering at home from a heart stent procedure completed less than two weeks prior, and all indications had been that he would make a full recovery. This was the first Feast he had missed in 54 years as he was resting and attending to Evelyn who was four weeks into her stay at a rehabilitation facility following surgery to repair a broken hip. He had been visiting her twice a day before his heart procedure, and was working diligently to help her gain strength so she might have an opportunity to return home.
Robert Edmund Fahey dedicated his life to preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God, and helping others towards that goal. He trusted God and lived in faithful anticipation of the resurrection to eternal life. His example of steadfast service and forward momentum despite many obstacles encourages those who follow along behind him – a husband, father, grandfather and teaching pastor who will be greatly missed.
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Milo Wilcox (1961)
I remember Robert with good memories from college. He led a productive and amazing life.He will be missed by many people...Milo Wilcox
Charlene Douglas (Mathe) (1960)
I loved the tribute to Robert Fahey, whom I remember well from Ambassador College days. I am just amazed at the full and productive life he and Evelyn lived in ministerial service. I did not know about all of his assignments around the world, and the thousands of people he has served. Thank you to the writer of the tribute for telling me so much I did not know about this old friend!
C. Roy Hunter (1961)
I remember him as a caring person with a good personality, enthusiasm and good sense of humor. Although I never got to know him really well, I admired and respected him.