Robert A. Wachter
Robert A. Wachter, age 84,
of Louisville, Ky., died Saturday, August 9, 2008. Throughout his life Bob loved to travel, and continued to do so after the death of his beloved wife Jeanne in 1997.
His passports document visits to over 80 nations and all seven continents,
his final excursion a two week transit of the Panama Canal in April from Santiago to Miami with his sister, Erie native Lucile Powers.
He also loved bridge, gardening, stamp collecting and was an avid and creative carpenter. Born in Erie on Valentine’s Day, 1924 as the eldest child of Charles and Catherine Wachter, he was a member of the Lawrence Park High School class of 1942. He joined the U.S. Army in 1943 and was a veteran of World War II. The Army sent him to Hamilton College to become an Air Force meteorologist. Half way through his training they determined they had enough meteorologists and sent him to Brazil to be a radio operator for the USAAF. After the war, he attended Pennsylvania State College, where he received a B.S. degree, magna cum laude, in Industrial Engineering. He became an engineer and manager during a 44 year career with General Electric, working in Erie, Hudson Falls, N,Y. and Appliance Park in Louisville, Ky. before retiring as Manager of Manufacturing Engineering for refrigeration in 1988. He grew up in Erie, and moved to Louisville in 1965, where he was an active member of the community for the remainder of his life. Robert was a member of St. Mark Catholic Church in Lawrence Park and St. Bernadette’s (formerly Mother of Good Counsel) in Louisville. He was a member of the Boy Scouts of America Troup 17 in Lawrence Park, where he was an Eagle Scout and member of the Order of the Arrow, led two tours of Philmont Scout Ranch with Troup 308 of Louisville, and served on the Executive Board of the Old Kentucky Home Council. He was a Kentucky Colonel, a member of the Elfun Society and numerous other charitable and service organizations, merging these interests with his love of travel through service projects with DePauw University, providing field engineering for community building projects in Peru and the Philippines. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Jeanne; brother, James; sister, Betty Brown, and brother-in-law, Bob Powers, all of Erie. He is survived by sons Christopher (Ruth Ann), Daniel, James (Marcia), and Eric; sister, Lucille Powers; and grandchildren, Robert (Rivkah), Stephanie, Benjamin, Shannon, Sarah, Erin, and Michael. Friends may call on Friday at the Francis V. Kloecker Funeral Home, 2502 Sassafras St., Erie, Pa. 16502 from 2-5 and 7-9 and are invited to the Funeral Mass on Saturday at Blessed Sacrament Church at 9:30 am. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. Memorial gifts may be made to Boy Scouts of America.

Blessed Sacrament Church "
St. Mark Catholic Church "