Robert A. Treder

Robert “Bob” Treder, 91, of Loves Park, passed away Saturday, January 30, 2016 at Swedish-American Hospital in Rockford. Services will be held at Sunset Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens in Machesney Park on Friday, February 5, at 2:00pm, with visitation at the funeral home beginning at 1:00pm. Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens, with full military honors.

Robert Treder was born on February 8, 1924, in Beloit, Wisconsin, as the youngest of five children born to Gustav and Bertha Treder. Bob graduated from Beloit High School in 1942, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1943. Following completion of basic training in Idaho, Bob completed the electronics training program in a series of locations, including Michigan City, Indiana, and Grove City, Pennsylvania. He then served as an electronics technicians mate aboard the USS Wasatch, seeing action in the Pacific Theater, including the battle of Leyte Gulf. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1946, and later that year enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, where he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering in 1950.

On May 10, 1953, Bob married Perne E. Nitz of Clinton, Wisconsin. They settled in Rockford, where Bob worked as an engineer for IBM and later for Barber-Coleman Company, where he retired in 1988. Bob was a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Rockford.

Robert Treder is survived by four children: Cindy (Fritz) Wallner, of River Hills, Wisconsin; Jean Treder (John Warren) of Coralville, Iowa; Tom (Beth) Treder of Telluride, Colorado, and Barbara (Jim) Vetter of Portola Valley, California. In addition, he is survived by seven grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren, as well as a sister-in-law, Marilyn Treder of Beloit, Wisconsin, and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Perne, in 2003, by his parents and by all of his siblings.

Bob had a keen interest in athletics, particularly football and baseball. He was the quarterback of the Big Ten champion intramural football team while at Wisconsin, and played catcher on a number of local baseball teams. He closely followed major league baseball and was a devoted, lifelong fan of the Green Bay Packers. He was proud to have served in the Navy, and will always be a hero to his family.