Dr. Robert B. Kendall, Jr

Dr. Robert B. Kendall, Jr., devoted husband and father, decorated combat veteran, and respected educator, lived a life defined by service— service to his family, service to his country, service to his community. Born in Augusta, Arkansas, Dr. Kendall’s journey from rural Arkansas to the halls of higher learning reflected his deep belief in the power of hard work and education to transform lives.

Dr. Kendall was born November 20, 1929, in Augusta, Arkansas, the eldest of twelve children born to R.B. and Eva Bledsoe Kendall. Dr. Kendall graduated from Carver High School. He attended Arkansas Mechanical & Normal College, now known as the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff.

After attending college on a track scholarship, he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951. It was then that he adopted the legal name “Robert Belton” because the military at that time would not allow initials as names. His family, though, still fondly calls him “R.B.”

During his time in the military, he was stationed in Augsburg, Germany and Okinawa, Japan, and served three deployments in Vietnam with the famed 101st Airborne “Screaming Eagles.” Early in his military career, he married Lettie Mae Parker., a teacher in Augusta.

Having served twenty years with honor, he retired as a Master Sergeant, E-8. He received numerous military awards and decorations, including Silver and Bronze stars. During this time, his family grew to include four children. He earned his Bachelor and Master of Science and Education Specialist degrees at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. Then, showing his eagerness and ability for higher education, he earned his PhD in Secondary Education at the George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University.

His successful education resulted in employment as high school assistant principal, then principal at Montgomery Central High School. He later served as an adjunct professor and financial aid officer back at his alma mater, Austin Peay.

In the community, Dr. Kendall supported his wife in her roles as a teacher, principal, and elected commissioner of Montgomery County, while he served as a Master of Thomas A. Simms, Jr. Lodge No. 170. His additional masonic titles included: Commander-in-Chief of Phoenix Consistory No. 81, in Oak Grove, KY; Deputy for the Orient of Kentucky; Sovereign Grand Inspector General (Active) for the United Supreme Council, Scottish Rite Masons, S.J., PHA; and as the 41st Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Kentucky.

He spearheaded the drive that gained funding to construct their own building for meetings. In recognition of his leadership, the members of Lodge #170 named their building “Kendall Hall.” That ongoing leadership inspired members to rebrand Phoenix Consistory No. 81 as “Robert B. Kendall, Jr. Consistory No. 81,” sparking the Golden Circle to change its name to “Robert B. Kendall, Jr. Assembly No. 81.” Moreover, the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge for the entire state of Kentucky has named a room in the Grand Lodge in Dr. Kendall’s honor.

R.B. had a love of music and cars. He enjoyed a broad array of musical styles from Sarah Vaughan, Brook Benton, and Al Green to Claude Debussy and Dave Brubeck. He was thrilled when he owned a Mercedes-Benz, but his burgundy front-wheel drive Oldsmobile Toronado may have been his favorite ride.

Dr. Kendall was a decades-long member of Saint John Missionary Baptist Church in Clarksville, TN. He and wife Lettie had been married just months short of seventy years when she died in 2021.

Dr. Kendall is survived by his children: Dr. Gustavia Yvonne Kendall, Attorney Sharon Kendall Roberson (Dr. Clifford), and twins Ronald Parker Kendall and Donald Parker Kendall; one grandson, Clifford Kendall Roberson, one granddaughter, Vivian Lettie Gustavia Syroyezhkin (Andrey), and great-grandson, Nikolai, born in 2025. His siblings: John, Leroy, Catherine, Barbara, Doris, Charles, and Isom predeceased him, but he is survived by three sisters: Bernice Kendall Fryer (Chicago, IL), Judy Kendall Woods (Searcy, AR), and Mae Helen Kendall Clifton (Augusta, AR), plus several nieces, nephews, alongside great-nieces and great-nephews on both sides of the Kendall and Parker families.