Robert J. Bankston

Robert James Bankston was born on April 27th, 1976, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and grew up in the suburbs of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He attended elementary and middle school there until he and his family moved to Derby, Kansas in 1992, where he finished high school. Bobby then moved back to Oklahoma and eventually married and soon welcomed his daughter, Jocelyn, in 1996. He moved with them to Kansas, in time divorced, and settled in the town of Derby, Kansas where he worked as a plumber by trade. In due course, Bobby met Lesley in 2010 with whom he shared his life and embraced the birth of their son, William, in 2016. He enjoyed football, baseball, soccer, ATVs & off-roading, fishing, golfing, hunting; he loved cars and classic cars, music, car modeling, stand-up comedy, flying drones, and camping. He was a profusely caring and loving father, brother, son, uncle, and an exceptionally good friend. He had a copious love for animals and cherished his pets as family. Robert was proceeded in death by his parents William and Genevieve Bankston, and his brother-in-laws Andy Coleman and Derek Diaz. He is Survived by his daughter Jocelyn Bankston (Alec), his son William Bankston, his fiancé Lesley Vaughn, his sister Brenda McVicker (Benny), his brother Bill Bankston (Dawn), his sister Bridget Diaz (Danny), his nieces and nephews Kenneth, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Devlin, Abigail, Braiden, Noah, Derek, Dayton and Bryanne, and a plethora of additional family members and friends. A viewing will be held at Smith Family Mortuaries in Derby, KS Sunday, Jan 9 from 2:00pm - 6:00pm. Services will be held at Smith Family Mortuary in Derby, KS, Jan 10 at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Kansas Humane Society, an organization Bobby felt strongly about.