Robert G. Kaiser, engineer, vice president
Robert G. Kaiser, beloved husband of Mary “Beth” Kaiser, passed away Friday, Sept. 23, 2011, at his home in Lewes. He was the last of four sisters and one brother. He was born Sept. 28, 1917, in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he attended St. Raphael’s Elementary School and Central Catholic High School.
His family moved to Newark, N.J. in the late fall of 1936. Following employment with both General Electric and Standard Container, he completed an aviation course at Bloomfield Vocational School.
In 1940 he joined Wright Aeronautical Corp. as a test engineer in the experimental aircraft engine development department. He progressed to shift supervisor. He earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology between 1937 and 1945 while employed full time. This was supplemented with additional studies at Cooper Union, and he acquired a professional engineer license in New York, New Jersey and Florida.
He joined Clark and Vicario Corp. in 1951 for a 30-year career. He became chief engineer and then vice president of engineering and part owner. The firm specialized in vacuum and de-areation in paper manufacturing, in which he was awarded 12 patents. He traveled extensively in the United States, Europe and Asia.
He and wife Beth married in 1948, and lived in Glen Rock and then Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J. In 1975 they relocated to Seminole, Fla., where he was a 20-year volunteer at St. Jerome Life Line Ministry. They moved to Cadbury at Lewes community in 2007. He was active in wood working, model railroading, hiking and gardening throughout his life.
He is survived by his wife Beth; son Robert and his wife Marsha; daughter Nancy and her partner Mary McElhone; grandchildren: Maggie and Katie; great-grandson Brandon; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 29, at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church, 152 Tulip Drive, Lewes; friends may call at the church beginning at 10 a.m. Friends may also call from 7 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 28, at Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, 16961 Kings Highway, Lewes. Interment will be private at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Dagsboro.
Donations to the Robert G Kaiser Scholarship at the New Jersey Institute of Technology are requested in lieu of flowers.
