Robert Francis Chaiken

Dec. 19, 1928 – February 17, 2012

Our father Robert Francis Chaiken died after a blessedly brief illness last Friday, at home with us in his new home in San Rafael, CA.

Born in Brooklyn, Daddy was a dedicated and accomplished research scientist in the field of combustion and explosives. He spent the last 30 years of his career at the Bureau of Mines in Pittsburgh, and did ground-breaking work in the area of energy re-use and worker safety. He retired in 1999 to devote himself to his "marvelous" wife, our mother Marilyne, until her death in November, 2002. He moved to Villa Marin in San Rafael in May, 2011, where he made many friends. He thoroughly enjoyed the warmth of the community, practicing ragtime on the piano, his white leather armchair, and the glorious view outside his living room window.

His greatest love was family: his grandchildren Seth Harrow and Sean Bruinsma; four great-grandchildren; the Wolkowitz-Thompson families; sons-in-law Martin Berg and Marko Bruinsma; sister-in-law Tedi Brown; and his three daughters, Stacie Rae Chaiken Berg of Los Angeles, Melanie Beth Harrow of Morristown, NJ, and Caylia Janine Chaiken of Mill Valley.

We will bury him on Friday, February 24, 2012, at 1:00pm at Beth David Cemetery, Elmont, NY. Memorial celebrations will be held in Pittsburgh and San Rafael in the coming months.

For more information about future memorials and commemorative gifts (no flowers, please): [email protected] Facebook: Robert Francis Chaiken