Obituary of Robert J. Stupp

Schenectady-Bob Stupp passed away after a short illness on his 95 th birthday, 1/29/2015. He was born in 1920 as the second son of Robert and Mabel Stupp in Lemoyne Pennsylvania. He was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Doris Stupp, his brother, Russell Stupp, sister in law, Helen Stupp, and niece, Jane Stupp. He is survived by son Robert Stupp III, his wife Pamela and grandson Robert Stupp IV. As a young boy in Harrisburg, Bob developed an interest in electricity and ran a radio sales and repair shop out of the family basement to earn money during the depression. He was too young to drive, so his brother Russell drove the family car and helped to pick up and deliver the radios. He would also use the family basement to construct his first boat for use on the nearby Susquehanna River. Bob graduated from Harrisburg Academy in 1938 and Pennsylvania State University in 1942. He worked for the General Electric Company in Bridgeport CT and Lynn MA during WWII developing radar technology for the war effort. He married Doris in 1943 and moved to Schenectady after the war. Bob spent 44 years at the Main Plant and the Global Research and Development Center in Niskayuna where he enjoyed his career as Manager of the Design Engineering and Instrumentation Group. He valued and loved to reminisce about the smart people, hard workers, and challenging assignments at the research lab. Bob's love of boats led him to Lake George where he and Doris spent time with friends camping on the shores of Huddle Bay. Waterskiing, swimming and boating were how weekends and vacation were spent during the post war years. When the opportunity arose, Bob and several friends and GE co-workers acquired land and formed the Hemlock Point Association on Lake George. He designed and built a camp which served as a summer home for family activities for years to come. After retiring from GE in 1986, he continued to contribute to volunteer and community projects. Bob served at various times on the board of trustees for Faith United Methodist Church and also on the board of the Visiting Nurses Service of Schenectady and the Lake George Association. The retirement project he was most proud of was the GE Elfun Talking Book Program. This project, which benefited the visually impaired, consisted of repairing over 50,000 tape recorders over a 22 year period for the Library of Congress and the NY State Library. Bob served as the co-founder and technical lead and especially enjoyed the fellowship of working with former co-workers and helping others in their workshop, the emergency garage at the GE Research and Development Center. He was awarded the GE Senior Elfun of the Year in 1989 and the Schenectady County Office of the Aging Senior Citizen of the Year in 1990 for his contributions to the community. A Memorial service will be held at 11am, Tuesday July 7 th, at Faith United Methodist Church, 811 North Brandywine Avenue, Schenectady, NY, 12308. A reception will follow in fellowship hall.