Robert C. Meissner

Bob Meissner Robert Charles Meissner, died October 6, 2016 in his home. He was born on April 25, 1930 in Bronx, NY to Charles and Frances Meissner. Bob was baptized at St. Mark Lutheran church in Yonkers, NY by the Rev. Adolph Meyer. He grew up as the only child of German and Irish parents. His father was an auto mechanic in his early career, but then became a police officer later on. His mother was a stay-at-home mom until her untimely death in 1938; Bob was only 8 years old. It was at that time when his grandma moved in to help raise him. Bob attended Bronx High School of Science and was on their swim team. He graduated in 1947 and then went on to study Chemical Engineering and Business Administration at City College in New York. Soon after graduation from City College in 1951, Bob was drafted into the Navy. He went to Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island and upon completion was assigned to the Johnny Hutchins Destroyer Escort, which was scrapped several years ago. It was their job to transport reservists to different ports of call up and down the eastern seaboard. In the winter they went south to the Caribbean, and in the summer they headed up the St. Lawrence Seaway. Bob finished his tour of duty in 1955. While in the Navy, Bob married his best friend, Richies sister, Gay, on December 20, 1952. Their families were members of the same German-American Club in NY, so they grew up together. It was a wonderful club for families, full of activities, which included swimming in Long Island Sound, as well as dancing and card playing. Gay and Bob loved to dance. Gay was actually a Rockette and a model of fur coats in New York during the early years of their marriage. They were blessed with two daughters, Karen and Susan. Karen is married to Peter Apessos and they only live 4 doors away from Bob & Ellen. Susan is married to Greg Dengler and they only live around the corner. Karen and Pete blessed Bob with 2 grandchildren, John and Nicole. John lives in Lansdale and Nicole lives with her fianc, Ron Nolan in Coopers, PA. Bob has spent his working career as a salesman. His first job after the service was for Johnson & Johnson, he had the NJ/Philadelphia territory and lived in Lansdale. After that he took a job with Ingersoll-Rand and moved the family to Chicago. Bob & Gays parents still lived in New York, so Bob took a job with Delavan Inc. in Wisconsin, but was assigned their east coast accounts. The family moved back east and again settled in Lansdale. In 1980 he took a job with Adcock out of Huntington Valley. They were a swimming pool distributor, which is how he eventually met Ellen (but Im getting ahead of the story). It was homeownership that brought Bob, Gay & their family to Quakertown. Bob & Gay loved to travel. As you can imagine, the pool business is slow in the winter, so they used that time to travel to all the "hot spots" in the Caribbean and Key West. One of Bobs favorite spots was the Dominican Republic; they have great beaches and great people. He would have liked to have taken a Viking River Cruise from Amsterdam to Prague. Bob unexpectedly lost his wife, Gay, to a blood clot that traveled to her heart. It was unexpected and devastating in so many ways. Bobs wife, Gay, and Ellens husband, Don, both died within days of each other. In the years after their losses, Bob & Ellen began to date and then moved in with each other in 2005. In 2006 Bob suffered a heart attack. He returned to work on a part-time basis, and eventually retired in 2008. To say that Bob LOVED retirement is an understatement. He spent his time doing as little work as possible. His days were filled with swimming in his beautiful & secluded built-in pool, (he liked to keep it at 80+) ardently reading about history, and enjoying his retired life. We are so thankful that Bob and Ellen not only found each other, but they found us here at Christ Lutheran Church in Trumbauersville. Services will be held on Monday, October 10, 2016 at 11:00 A.M. in Christ Lutheran Church 1 Luther Lane Trumbauersville, PA 18970. Call Sunday 4:00-5:30 P.M. at the C. R. Strunk Funeral Home, Inc. (www.crstrunk.com) 821 W. Broad St. Quakertown, PA 18951 and Monday 10:00-11:00 A.M. in the church. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made to Christ Lutheran Church P.O. Box 569 Trumbauersville, Pa 18970. Obituary was prepared with excerpts submitted by The Reverend Carolann Hopcke. Charitable donations may be made to: Christ Lutheran Church P.O. Box 569, Trumbauersville PA 18970 Service Information 24 Hour Viewing Sunday October 9, 2016 4:00 PM C.R. Strunk Funeral Home, Inc. 821 West Broad Street Quakertown, PA 18951 24 Hour Viewing Monday October 10, 2016 10:00 AM Christ Lutheran Church P.O. Box 569 Trumbauersville, PA 18970 Funeral Service Monday October 10, 2016 11:00 AM Christ Lutheran Church P.O. Box 569 Trumbauersville, PA 18970