Bob was born in Pahala, Hawai'i, on March 15, 1950. His parents were Althea Beatty Tully and Joe Allen Tully. Bob's father died in an automobile accident in Ka'u after which Bob lived with his beloved grandparents Jim "Big Jim" and Mae "Nana" Beatty in the Hutchison Sugar manager's Home in Na'alehu.
Bob attended school in Na'alehu then at Hilo Riverside School and Hilo Union School before transferring in the 7th grade to Hawai'i Preparatory Academy in Kamuela, Hawai'i, where he graduated in 1968. Bob was an accomplished student and athlete. He was a member of two Big Island Interscholastic Federation championship football teams in 1965 and 1966.
After graduating from HPA, Bob attended Colorado College in Colorado Springs. He left after one year and returned to Hilo to join the United States Naval Reserve followed by two year's active duty where he served as a quartermaster on the destroyer USS Carpenter DD825 including service at Yankee Station in the Vietnam war zone. After an honorable discharge Bob returned to college in Hilo while working as a sportswriter with the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. He later transferred to and received a BA from Colorado State University in 1976. Following his undergraduate work Bob attended the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai'i, Manoa, receiving his JD in May 1982.
Bob worked as a public defender with the Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i and as a private practitioner, fulfilling his lifelong ambition to help others.
Bob was a remarkable reader, a lover of literature and an accomplished writer. He had broad and deep intellectual interests, including Hawaiian history. He was on the board of the Lyman Museum, Hilo, Hawai'i.
Bob lost his older brother, Joe Allen Tully, in 2010 and is survived by his sister, Donna Hayes; cousins: Dee Jay Mailer, Mike, Lynn and Laurie (Mortara), Thora Mae Thiesen and Heather Rush; and his nieces and nephews: Paul, Reid and David Hayes and Bumi, Mihwa (Aiwohi), Jamy, Hyoja & David Tully.
Bob was a good friend to his friends and family. He was a very smart, very funny, and talented man, including singing in "The Music Man" in high school. He was not afraid to challenge conventions, or anyone or anything else that he found not to meet his high standards.
He will be greatly missed.
Burial: 9:00 a.m. on 02/04/22 at the Hilo Veterans Cemetery No. II. Celebration of Life services are pending.
Please contact Mihwa at tmihwa@gmail.com for future details.
