Robert Alexander Yakin Sr. of Monticello, NY, passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 15, 2022, at the Garnet Health Medical Center in Middletown, NY. He was 86. The son of the late Alexander and Elinora Yakin, Robert was born on November 18, 1937, in Somerville, NJ. 

Robert was an avid bowler and bingo player. He spent many evenings at Kiamesha Lanes with his great friends George and Peter, winning many league titles through the years. He took particular pleasure in playing bingo. He could often be found at local weekly games or taking trips to Mohegan Sun Casino to play. He was a lifelong and dedicated volunteer for the Monticello Fire Department and inspired others to join the volunteer service and mentor junior members. He spent untold hours at emergencies over the many years, oftentimes operating an engine or the ladder truck at the scene. He will be missed by many. 

Robert was a US Navy Veteran, assigned to Naval Support Activities in Naples, Italy. Returning to civilian life, he worked as a warehouse foreman for the former AT Distributors in Kiamesha Lake, NY. He spent short times as a paid driver for the Monticello Fire Department and driving long distances for the former Garretta Trucking of Rutherford, NJ. He then worked for Leisure Time Ice, first in the ice plant and then as bottling manager for their spring water division. After retirement, he enjoyed shuttling trucks to Ohio for Robert Green Chevrolet Truck Division in Monticello, NY. 

He is survived by his son Robert Jr and his partner Christine (Bethel, NY), daughter Helen and her husband Michael (Myakka City, Fla), daughter Heather and her partner Michael (Cornwall, NY), sister Roberta (Monticello, NY), sister Ronalda and her husband Peter (Monticello, NY), brother Ronald and his wife Jenny (Peekskill, NY), grandsons Joshua and Justin, niece Brooke, niece Sara and her husband Tim and their daughter, Robert’s great-niece Julia. 

He was predeceased by his father Alexander, his mother Elinora, brothers Richard and Raymond, and his great friend and brother-in-law, George Kelley. 

Memorial visitation will be held on Wednesday, December 28, 2022, from 10:00am to 11:00am at the Monticello Fire Department, 23 Richardson Ave., Monticello, NY 12701. A memorial service will take place at 11:00am at the firehouse. 

Burial with full military honors will immediately follow at the Sullivan County Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Sunset Lake Road, Liberty, NY.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in his name to the Monticello Volunteer Fire Department in Monticello, NY. 

Funeral arrangements are honorably entrusted to Zygmunt-Murtie Funeral and Cremation Service - 845-977-6127 or visit www.zmmemorials.com.