Robert James Toon

Robert James Toon His favorite t-shirt read, “FRIED CHICKEN & GASOLINE” - which is clearly a testament to his birthplace and a good southern upbringing. He was born in Biloxi, Mississippi. He loved hoopties before anyone knew what they were. As a kid, his love of fried chicken trumped a tasty jar of Gerber’s before he could walk or say mama. The local staff at Popeye’s always marveled at the cute kid that didn’t say much but ate the spicy bird like a Dallas Cowboys lineman. Rumor has it that there is a picture of Robert Toon on the Biloxi Popeye’s wall of fame. Surely someone there remembers how the family would roll up in the yellow with wood-grain-down-the-side LTD station wagon - and the kid in the Givenchy overalls always had a big smile on his face. After Mississippi, he lived in Texas, back to Mississippi, and then to Iowa, where he developed great friendships with great people - and a love for Graziano’s Italian market. A trip to Graziano’s meant one thing – Mama Toon was going to create another Italian feast that would make Wolfgang Puck shake in his pastries. After one of many famous feasts, the family was sitting around the dinner table. Rob pulled out a piece of paper and began writing. His brothers looked at the piece of paper and concluded Rob was learning a foreign language. It was Rob’s math homework. He was a whiz at mathematics, much like his dad. While other kids were watching endless reruns of Three’s Company, Rob would conquer calculus – just for the fun of it. But it wasn’t all food and math in the Toon house. The quietest of nights would often erupt as Rob and his sister competed at Mario Kart – all the while yelling at the t.v. screen as loudly as possible to convince Mario or Luigi to cross the finish line first. The winner would often jump up and rejoice in a victory routine that is best described as a cross between a Jane Fonda workout video and Michael Jackson’s Thriller. After graduating from Iowa State University, Rob moved to Tulsa, where he began his career as an intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring tech. Earlier this year, he moved to Memphis to continue his work in the medical field. His daughter recently moved to Memphis, and Rob was thrilled that he was going to spend more time with the most important person in his life. Nothing made Rob happier than Chloe. She is his pride and joy. Robert James Toon was 37 years old. His funeral will be held in Tulsa on Tuesday, July 16, 2013, at 10:00 a.m., at Christ the King, 1520 South Rockford Avenue. Fitzgerald Southwood Colonial Chapel, 918-291-3500.

Robert James Toon

November 24, 1975 - June 30, 2013