Obituary of Robert Louis Kruse

" Robert L. Kruse, 62, of Michael Sears Rd, died Sunday, July 29, 2001, at home. Born in Fairmont, Minnesota, August 23, 1938, he was the son of the late Harold and Alice (Geiske) Kruse. Mr. Kruse grew up in Trimont, Minnesota, and later moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he lived for 11 years. In 1979, he moved to Belchertown, Massachusetts. He obtained his BS in engineering from the University of Minnesota. He went on to receive his Masters in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois. He then received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University, with a minor in nuclear engineering. Mr. Kruse worked as a Chemical Engineer at Monsanto Corporation for 28 years before his retirement in 1996. He loved to travel and as part of his responsibilities with Monsanto, he spent a year in Belgium, and was a consultant in Japan and Russia. Also as part of his profession, he was a Fellow of the American Chemical Society. He was a member of the First Lutheran Church in Holyoke, Massachusetts and a life member of the Appalachian Mountain Club. His love of hiking took him to many mountainous areas. He hiked half of the Appalachian trail, and made yearly treks with his family to the White Mountains. He included Mt. Washington and parts of the range in his travels. He especially loved Echo Lake in Maine, which was part of the AMC Club. Mr. Kruse and his family also spent a lot of time at Noble View Camp in Russell, Massachusetts, where he was responsible for a the management and caretaking of the camp. Mr. Kruse is survived by his son, Brian, daughter in law Brenda, and their son Jordan, with whom he lived. He is also survived by his daughter Donna Tilton ,her husband Fred, and their newborn son Christopher also of Belchertown, Massachusetts. He has a sister Joyce Hillmer in Fairmont, Minnesota, and 2 brothers Alan of Odin, Minnesota and Joel of Ormsby, Minnesota. Funeral services will be Thursday, August 2, 2001 at 10:00 a.m. in the Beers & Story Belchertown Funeral Home, followed by burial in Hillcrest Cemetery, Belchertown, Massachusetts. Calling hours are Wed. from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. only. The family requests that donations be made in his memory to the First Lutheran Church & School, Northampton St, Holyoke, MA 01040. "