Robert Alan Sigafoos, 96, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, died Sunday, February 2, 2020, at Willard Walker Hospice Home.
Born October 14, 1923, in Philadelphia, PA to Dr. John W. Sigafoos and Ruth C. Sigafoos, he was raised in Doylestown, PA, and graduated from Doylestown High School in 1941.
He earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from Penn State, and a Ph.D. in economics from Indiana University. In World War II, he served in the 111th Infantry Regiment in the Pacific as a rifleman and a field medic.
Professor Sigafoos spent 20 years in college teaching at Penn State, Drexel, and the University of Memphis. He also served another 20 years as an economic consultant with Stanford Research Institute in California, Southwest Research Institute in Texas and Real Estate Research Corporation in Los Angeles. Prior to his retirement in 1985, he held the Fogelman Chair at the University of Memphis. He was a well-known author. His best book is Absolutely, Positively Overnight: The Federal Express Story. In retirement, he turned to writing Civil War-based novels.
Prior to moving to Fayetteville in 1998, he lived on Beaver Lake near Eureka Springs. He was active his entire life in the Democratic Party, and at one time served as an aide to Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois. In recent years, he was active with Pea Ridge Military Park Foundation, the Association for Beaver Lake Environment, and the Prairie Grove Battlefield Commission.
Survivors include his wife, Katherine McArthur Sigafoos, a daughter, Betsy Carrie of Mesa, Arizona, a son, Robert J. Sigafoos of San Clemente, California, a grandson Grant R. Sigafoos of Dana Point, California, a granddaughter Colleen A. Sandic of Portland, Maine, and his much-loved feline “Goldie Hawn.”
No service is planned. Cremation is under the supervision of Epting Funeral Home. Burial will be at Washington Crossing National Military Park in Pennsylvania.
Inscription
TEC 5 US ARMY
WORLD WAR II
