Robert Edwin Burkhart

Bob was born March 20, 1933, in Laureldale, Berks County, Pa., son of Edwin and Pauline (Homan) Burkhart. He spent his childhood in Berks County.

Bob served in the U.S. Navy from 1951-1955 as an Aviation Electronics Technician Second Class.

On May 5, 1956, Bob married Joyce Marie Boaman. They were married for 60 incredible years. Bob worked for IBM for 37 years and during those years, they relocated 15 times to nine different states and the United Kingdom, raising eight children. From 1963-1975 Bob was a hardware engineer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida working on the Apollo Space Program.

Bob was a selfless husband, father and friend. His kind, gentle spirit allowed others to feel comfortable and secure in his presence. He had a superb sense of humor and loved to share it by telling lots of stories, jokes and tall tales, which always brought smiles and laughter. Bob's favorite pastime during the last 8 years or so was singing, and he had a beautiful voice. He shared his love of singing by leading karaoke events at senior living communities.

Bob is survived by eight of his nine children, Bob (Deborah) of FL, Therese Sheets (Chris) of CO, and Karen Bird (Lee), Dan (Manuela), Monica Hooge (Steve), Bill (Kim), Joe (Melissa) and Mike (Amy), all of TX; 19 grandchildren; one great-grandson; sister Mary Hines (Ray) and brother, Kenny (Yutta), both of AZ. He was preceded in death by his wife, Joyce; daughter, Anne Elizabeth; sister, Barbara, and brother, David.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00am on Saturday, December 30th at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 10205 N FM 620 in Austin, Texas, with a reception following the service. Memorial gifts may be made to the Prostate Cancer Foundation at www.pcf.org.