Condolence: Like Ed Yee mentioned above, Bob was a mentor for me as well. Only he mentored me twice, in 2 completely separate subjects.

My first engineering job after college was with Eaton, and I was assigned to the IT MCC group with Bob, and another engineer named Kurt. Kurt was the design guy, Bob was the testing guy, and I spent my time bouncing between the two of them. Can't even describe how much I learned from him. Standards work, test plan creation, actual testing... learned a lot from him in the engineering realm and I will always be grateful for that.

Over the years I worked with him, we must've spent over 50 weeks doing testing offsite, either in Pennsylvania, or North Carolina, or even sometimes at the Rockwell plant where he ended up working later. Those were fun times. He'd make the plan, then send me out (he referred to me as his "300 pound gorilla") to do the wrench work. He'd mainly tell jokes, and drink coffee and smoke. But he taught me a ton about testing, and how to get stuff to pass.

Then again, later, after Bob had left for Rockwell, I left Wisconsin for California. As it happened, my first job out there was with a company called RCBS, which made reloading equipment for hunters and competitive shooters. I had no experience in that industry, been years since I'd even held a gun. I remembered that Bob was big in trap shooting and hunting, and sent him an email, asking him if he'd ever heard of the place. He sent me a picture of his reloading bench, full of RCBS equipment, and told me I had just landed his dream job. He then proceeded to send me around a dozen emails, each at least a page long, each describing some facet of the industry in detail. I went from a complete newbie to someone who could hold meaningful discussions in record time, thanks to Bob. So he was a mentor for me in that respect as well.

Even though I no longer work at RCBS, I was still trading emails with Bob on a regular basis right up until his passing. I'm going to miss that.

One funny (to me, anyway) story to share about Bob... when I started at RCBS, I started buying a few rifles. Not knowing much about the subject, I'd ask everyone for opinions, including Bob. I'd send him an email.... "hey Bob, I'm thinking about getting XXX rifle, you know anything about it?" And I'd get a reply a few hours later "No, I don't know what one you're talking about, I'll look into it." Then the following Monday "Hey Scott, I stopped in at the local Gander Mountain this weekend, I saw the one you are asking about. Yeah, I really like the stock on it, I think it'll be a great gun for you. So I bought one in .300 win mag. And another in .223. And put one in .308 on order." He'd do that all the time. It was a combination of funny, and frustrating (just because I couldn't afford to match him rifle for rifle), but also awesome, because he'd buy all these guns I was looking at, then shoot the heck out of them and give me a good review of what he liked and didn't about the rifle.

Bob will be missed. Thanks to him for all the help and memories.

Condolence: Bobber - I always looked forward to seeing you at "The Shack" for deer hunting over the last 25 years or so. Hopefully we'll be able to shoot pistols in the 'great range in the sky' sometime in the future. Rest in peace, old friend.

Condolence: Bob - I will always cherish the time we had together; you were a wonderful co-worker and friend. I enjoyed our discussions about hunting, trap shooting, and life in general. Based on all our conversations about your trips to see all your relatives in Iowa and North Dakota, I felt as if I knew them as well.
As a fellow person of faith, I offer you this:
John 14:1-3: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. you believe in God; believe also in me. My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
Farewell my friend, until we meet again in that very place.

Condolence: Bob - I will miss trap shooting with you & our conversations at the gun clubs. I always remember shooting a perfect score the time we shared the same stations.

Condolence: Bob, you were my mentor, comrade in arms, and loyal friend. I was hoping to cross a few items off the bucket list with your help, but we'll have to do it when we see each other on the other side. Rest in peace old friend.