Robert Loffer

Robert F. "Bob" Loffer, 94, a retired businessman and World War II veteran, died February 7 following an acute respiratory illness.

Bob and his late wife, Lee, retired from Ohio to SaddleBrooke, AZ, in 1994. There they pursued their love of golf, continued their world travels and contributed to the community through volunteer work.

He was born July 30, 1921, in Oskaloosa, KA, to Dr. and Mrs. Laurence F. (Ruth L. Sweet) Loffer and grew up in Bolckow and Columbia, MO.

He became interested in flying at about age 10, when his father took him up in a barnstormer's open cockpit, bi-wing plane. Encouraged by his mother, he learned to fly at age 19 while attending the University of Missouri.

He renewed his pilot's license decades later when Lee also became a private pilot, and they spent 20 years flying their Grumman Tiger throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Bob enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps (now the Air Force) in October 1941. During World War II he served in the China-Burma-India theater, flying the Himalaya Mountains - known as The Hump - to take supplies from India to China.

He served on active duty until 1945, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross among other honors. He retired as a major from the Air Force Reserves at age 60.

Bob attended UCLA on the GI Bill, graduating with a bachelor's of science degree in business administration.

His long career in industrial management began at Gladding McBean ceramics company in Glendale, CA. He started as a timekeeper, held many positions throughout the company, and later helped develop and implement a computerized production and inventory control system.

He retired in 1989 as vice president/general manager of Permacrete Products Corporation, a precast concrete company, in Columbus, OH.

During his years at SaddleBrooke, Bob was a member of Rotary Club, helping to organize the annual golf tournament for children's charities and serving as an officer. He was twice named Rotarian of the Year. He was a board member and secretary-treasurer for VOSH Arizona (Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity), a charity providing eye care to the poor in Mexico.

Lee (Lena Dickinson) Loffer, his wife of 67 years, died Feb. 27, 2013, in Oro Valley.

He is survived by his daughters, Shirley Lyn Loffer, of Campbell, CA, and Deb Martin, of Dublin, OH; grandchildren, Robert Loffer Martin, of Dublin and Kaitlyn C. Martin, of Columbus; sister-in-law, Betty Dickinson, of Monterey, CA; nephews, Sam Dickinson, Charles Warner, Neil Warner, Larry Dickinson and Steven Dickinson; and niece Shirley Dickinson Kanak.

A Celebration of Life will be at 11 a.m. Feb. 20 at Vistoso Funeral Home, 2285 E. Rancho Vistoso Blvd., Oro Valley. Memorial contributions may be made to VOSH Arizona; Honor Flight, Columbus.