Dr. Robert Hunter McKinley

Dr. Robert Hunter McKinley

Lansing - Dr. Robert Hunter McKinley of Lansing, MI passed away on December 23, 2021.

An anthropologist and retired MSU professor, Bob was born on November 17, 1941 to John and Virginia McKinley in Tarentum, Pennsylvania, where he spent his early childhood until the family moved to Snyder, NY. Bob's formative years in both places – including a loving multi-generational home nurtured by his parents and grandparents, and tightknit bonds with his brother Jack, sister Mary Jane, cousins, and several relatives – gave him an enduring, affectionate attachment to Pittsburgh and Buffalo. Bob carried this close affinity throughout his life, which would bring him to Michigan to start an academic career, raise a family, and also travel throughout Southeast Asia while researching and teaching.

Bob received his PhD in anthropology in 1975 from the University of Michigan and taught anthropology and religious studies at Michigan State University for 43 years. He published works on Malay kinship and religion, headhunting rituals in Southeast Asia, ideological aspects of the Native American Crow and Omaha kinship terminologies, and theoretical understandings of the phenomenon of culture. Bob taught abroad as a Fulbright lecturer at the University of Malaya and as a visiting lecturer at the National University of Singapore, Australian National University, and the University of Michigan. Bob's passion for exploring social theory and tribal cultures kept him avidly researching and writing well into retirement.

During his graduate studies at the University of Buffalo, Bob met and married Esther, a Singaporean graduate student who became an elementary school teacher in the Okemos public schools. In East Lansing, they raised their two children, Susan and Steve, and became active members of Edgewood United Church of Christ. Bob's scholarly work led the family to live briefly in Malaysia two times, where the McKinleys were blessed with precious experiences and bonds forged with Esther's extended family throughout Asia. Bob and Esther shared a deep love of children, a gift for parenting, and a commitment to cross-cultural exchange. For several years, they together advised the Singapore Students Association at MSU, providing a welcoming atmosphere for international students. Bob's children, nieces, and nephews will always treasure his playful spirit and how joyfully "Uncle Bob" would entertain them with stories and games, and how he related to them as individuals and took an interest in their lives.

Bob wholeheartedly enjoyed reunions and visits with family, chatting on the phone during baseball and football games (to root for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Spartans AND Wolverines, the Steelers, and the Bills), immersing himself in books, summer trips to participate in ceremonies of the Creek Nation in Oklahoma, golfing with family and friends, opportunities to speak Malay, folk music, and sampling his many favorite local foods whenever in Buffalo.

Bob will be lovingly remembered for his genuinely kind-hearted soul, sense of humor, heartfelt laugh, dedication to friends and relatives, broad intellect and deep understanding of history, politics and cultures, clapping with abandon and childlike enthusiasm when happy, and his sincere delight in learning about the world and connecting with people.

Bob is survived by daughter Susan Jed (Tim); son Steven McKinley (Pooja Varshney); brother Jack McKinley (Jane); sister Mary Jane Hayes (Bob Ciesielski); and a dear group of extended family and friends.

Private family burial will be held in Prospect Cemetery, Brackenridge on Monday, May 16, 2022.