Hilton Head marathon runner was a devoted father, husband and son
The Hilton Head Island man who died Saturday after running the Rock n' Roll Half-Marathon in Savannah was a devoted husband and father, based on his Facebook page.
Robert Staiti, 47, died at Hilton Head Hospital after collapsing at home, according to a report from Savannah television station WTOC and an obituary from Saul's Funeral Home.
A father of a 3-year-old girl and 11-month-old son, Staiti's Facebook page is filled with the posts of a proud parent, including a video of his daughter in a karate class.
"My princeses started karate," Staiti wrote Sept. 1. "Look out."
Several other pictures depict Staiti as an active father who took his kids to an aquarium, celebrated their birthdays and dressed them up for Halloween.
He also honored his late father with many posts about missing him, including one celebrating his own 10 years of sobriety from a narcotic addiction May 16 with a picture of a coin earned to celebrate the occasion.
"I am feeling so very blessed today for what I have earned," Staiti wrote. "One special note to my father looking down over me, wish you could have been here to be a part of this. Miss and love you very much."
An avid runner, Staiti trained by sometimes running Bluffton Parkway and worked out every day.
The Brooklyn native successfully ran the New York Marathon twice, according to a Go Fund Me page set up by his friends to assist his wife and children financially.
The page had over 150 shares and raised over $1,700 by 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Attempts made early Wednesday to reach his wife, Stephanie Staiti-Michetti, were unsuccessful.
Those who wish to donate to Staiti's Go Fund Me page can do so by visiting https://www.gofundme.com/wx9m7kqc.
Follow Caitlin Turner on Twitter at twitter.com/Cait_E_Turner.
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This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 12:21 PM with the headline "Hilton Head marathon runner was a devoted father, husband and son."