Robert "Bob" Oeding

Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, to Robert Oeding and Margaret Walter, he graduated from Brazil High School and matriculated to Purdue University. While at college, he became a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity and Sigma Gamma Tau.

His passion with airplanes began as a child — making model airplanes. After high school, he headed off to Purdue to major in Aeronautical Engineering, leaving with a Masters in 1967. Bob began his career at Philco-Ford in Newport Beach, CA, followed by a move to McDonnell-Douglas in Santa Monica, Spectron Engineering in Costa Mesa and PDA Engineering in Santa Ana. He also consulted with other firms in the area. In 1998 he and two co-workers established Spectral Engineering to continue work on the B-2 Spirit plane. A coworker wrote that “Bob was known as a serious, precise, devoted engineer …. much of Bob’s research was presented at classified international symposia in the United States and Europe …. He was an expert in the testing of aircraft materials for survivability following a nuclear flash.” He also mentioned their discussions over lunch involved how growing up on farms (Indiana and Texas) is where they learned to really work and how it carried over to their present personalities. Bob considered himself lucky being able to build his career in his beloved Southern California.

Outside of work, Bob enjoyed photography, creating a darkroom at home to develop numerous rolls of film through the years. His output decorates many walls in his home — remembrances of his and Maureen’s travels together, having toured six continents. He was a hands-on dad, coaching soccer, participating in the Father/Son program of Indian Guides and attending many competitions of his sons’ youth sports. He was an avid water polo fan, traveling far and wide to cheer on his sons’ water polo competitions — from 1981 at Corona del Mar High School, to Stanford and Cal, to two Olympics — in Atlanta, Georgia and Sydney, Australia. His boys say they will miss his infamous “dad jokes.”

Bob is survived by his loving wife, Maureen, of 60 years and children, Jeffrey (Emory) and Chris (Eden); grandchildren, Samson, August, Oscar and Lucas; sisters, Pat Redenbarger, Jeanne Howard (Bill), and Ann Birkemeier (Gary); and brothers, John (Brenda) and Paul (Anne) Oeding. He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Margaret Oeding, and brother-in-law, Philip Redenbarger.

In lieu of flowers, donations to American Parkinson Disease Association can be made at apdaparkinson.org or to a charity of your choosing to honor Bob.