Obituary of Robert William Ferree

Robert William "Bob" Ferree, 79, passed away peacefully on December 27, 2015, at his home in State College, PA. Bob was born in Bryn Mawr, PA, on May 18, 1936, as the only child of Herbert T. Ferree, an executive with the Atlantic Richfield Company, and Agnes Madsen Ferree, a homemaker. After graduating from Lower Merion H.S., Bob earned a B.S.E.E. from Lafayette College in 1958 and a M.B.A. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in 1960. Bob loved to travel, and by becoming a contract engineer he was able to combine business with pleasure. During his professional career he managed to work in and visit 49 states of the union. In 1978 he accepted an assignment with the Dornier Company in Friedrichshafen, Germany. While he was in Europe he met his future wife, Renate Schmechel Kurz. They married in 1979. As Renate's English was much better than Bob's German they decided to live in the U.S. Bob continued to take jobs that involved a lot of sightseeing, but after son David was born in 1982 he looked for work closer to home – first in Maryland and then in Connecticut. After his retirement in 1999 he kept busy serving as a substitute teacher at local schools. He still found plenty of time to read and to take some memorable trips to Mexico, Brazil and Italy. In 2007 Bob, his wife and his son moved to State College, and those years were some of the happiest in their lives. They were amazed and deeply gratified by the warm welcome they received from the residents. Bob liked to explore the beautiful countryside of Central PA and to attend events like the Grange Fair and the Nittany Antique Machinery Show. Pretty soon he knew the area better than some of the natives. In 2008 Bob became a member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Penn State University and was very active taking classes and even teaching a few. One of his major interests was watching the Stock Market, and he hardly ever missed the weekly Stock Market Forum. Together with his wife he enjoyed the Supper Club meetings and the monthly outings with the Traveling Lunch Bunch. Bob is survived by his wife of 36 years, Renate and his son David, both of State College; his cousin Karen Jessen of N.Y.C.; and his cousin Christine Barber and her family of Kennett Square, PA. In lieu of flowers memorial donations to one of the following institutions would be appreciated: OLLI at Penn State, 100 Innovation Blvd, University Park, PA, 16802; Pets Come First, 2451 General Potter Highway, Centre Hall, PA, 16828 or www.petscomefirst.net; Schlow Centre Region Library, 211 S. Allen Street, State College, PA, 16801 or www.supportschlow.org, in memory of Robert William "Bob" Ferree. A visitation will be held from 12 noon until 2:00p.m. on Tuesday, December 29, 2015 at Koch Funeral Home, 2401 S. Atherton St., State College. Interment will be private. Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com