Robert W. Crist Sr., 86, widower of Yolanda R. Crist, passed away on Thursday October 13, 2016. A native of Wagner SD, he grew up in Portsmouth where hegraduated from Cradock High School. He served in the US Navy from 1950 to 1952 during the Korean War and  graduated from the College of William and Mary that same year. Robert worked at the Hampton VA Medical Center as a Corrective Therapist retiring in 1985 after 30 years of service.

Preceded in death by his loving wife of 55 years Yolanda R. Crist; surviving are his sons and their spouses, Robert W. Crist II, Jonathan A. Crist and his wife, Leann, and Paul V. Crist and his wife, Wendy, along with nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Robert was an active member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and was a founding member of the Lower Peninsula Weightlifting Club which was formed in 1956.

Through the decades, he had various titles serving on the Mr. America Committee, including serving as Chairman of the committee. He also was a F1HC official, and was an International Olympic Weightlifting Referee, attending the 1972 Munich Olympics and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He also served as Chairman of AAU weightlifting from 1971-1976, and helped found the International Powerlifting Federation.

Since 1961, he was the recipient of both The Helms Hall of Fame Trophy in Los Angeles and the Body Building Hall of Fame in York, PA. The Lower Peninsula Weightlifting club has won more team and individual honors in the state of Virginia and the South than any other club. His pioneering efforts laid the foundations for USA Weightlifting's current Mid-Atlantic corps of athletes. He trained and encouraged others in the weightlifting spirit.

The family will receive friends from 5:30-6:30pm Thursday, October 20, 2016 at Berceuse Funeral & Cremation Traditions in Hampton. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00am Friday October 21 at St. Joseph Catholic Church.Interment with Navy honors will follow at Parklawn Memorial Park, Hampton. A reception will be held afterward at St Joseph Catholic Church's Cordier Hall.

The family wishes in lieu of flowers, contributions to be made to the Huntington's

Disease Foundation or Catholic Charities, http://catholiccharitiessf.org/donate/