Friends and family gathered recently to remember the life of a former Upper Arlington resident.

Robert W. Minor, 92, passed away June 26 in Naples, Fla., with his family at his side. A private funeral service was held at First Community Church.

Minor's brother, Dan, was seven-and-a-half years his junior.

"He was a hard act to follow," Dan Minor said. "He was something special, and he will be missed."

The late Minor, according to his obituary, was a 1936 graduate of Bexley High School and a 1940 graduate of Ohio State University, where he served as president of Beta Theta Pi, was elected senior class president and later named as one of the university's 100 greatest alumni.

After college, Minor toured the country as a Vaudeville performer for the Major Bowes Troupe.

During World War II, he served in the Army's 29th Infantry Division, taking part in the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach. He enlisted as a private but was discharged as a lieutenant colonel, having been awarded the Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and multiple campaign ribbons.

After the war, he attended the OSU College of Law, graduating first in the class of 1948.

In his career, Minor worked as administrative assistant to Ohio Sen. John Bricker, First Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Justice Department, the youngest ever Commissioner to the Interstate Commerce Commission as appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower, Legal Vice-President at the New York Central Railroad and Legal and Senior Vice-President of Penn Central Railroad.

From 1971 until his retirement in 1990, Minor was a partner at the Columbus law firm of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. He also served chairman of the board for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

Dan Minor said his brother was modest, never giving any indication of the great life he lived.

"We were very close, very good friends, the way brothers should be," Minor said. "I have fond, fond memories."

Upper Arlington resident Tom Boles was Robert Minor's friend for many years.

"He was an incredibly gifted man," Boles said. "He seemed to be good at everything he did."

In his eulogy, Robert A. Minor described his father as a "man of tremendous accomplishments and achievements" who provided valuable lessons to live by.

"He did not accomplish and achieve what he did because he was afraid to step up to a challenge or a worry about decisions," the younger Minor said. "By taking the opportunities that come to us, by being the best we can be at whatever we do and by treating people the way that Dad treated people, we might strive to emulate his life."

Robert A. Minor also described his father as a humble, caring man with a wonderful sense of humor.

"He treated people with respect and he was mindful of their dignity," Minor said. "He was loved by so many. He lived a life well lived."

He is survived by wife of 64 years, Joan Allen; their children: Robert A. Minor, Mary Ann List, Emily Minor Smith and Julia Minor Hoffman; eight grandchildren; his brother; and numerous nieces and nephews.