Bob was the younger of two sons born to Paul H. and Margaret C. Royer. He graduated from Abilene High School in May of 1942. After graduation, he was appointed to the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. He graduated from the Academy on June 6, 1945 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy. While in the Navy, he held many varied positions, such as: Ship's Secretary, Captain's Aide, Executive Officer, Personnel and Recruiting Officer, Assistant Tactical Officer, Assistant Flag Secretary and Flag Lieutenant, Public Relations and Liaison Officer, Staff Legal Officer, Main Battalion Control Officer, and Division and Watch Officer. He was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal, the American Area Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. Following his service in the United States Navy, he returned to Kansas where he enrolled in the School of Law, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. While studying law, he also taught in the Engineering School at the University of Kansas. After graduating from the School of Law in 1950 and being admitted to the Kansas Bar the same year, he returned to Abilene to practice law with his father in the firm of Royer and Royer. Bob was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Abilene Elks Lodge, a past president of the University of Kansas Greater University Fund, the Dickinson County Hospital Association and the Dickinson County Bar Association. He was also a member of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association and the Kansas Bar Association. Bob had not only been admitted to practice but had practiced before the United States Supreme Court. In 1954, he was recognized as the Young Man of the Year in Abilene. He married the former Jill Peck on August 31, 1946, and they had one daughter, Shannon and four sons, Robert Jr., Charles, Richard, and Michael.