Robert John Frantzen

Robert J. (Bob) Frantzen, 89, a retired engineer, passed away June 17, 2026. Bob lived the last two and a half years in Encinitas and Carlsbad, California after living 44 years in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He was born November 13, 1936, in Plattsburg, New York, the son of a civil servant and a schoolteacher-turned homemaker. He lived there until he graduated from high school, after which he went on to attend Syracuse University on a full-tuition academic scholarship. He graduated in 1959 with both Bachelor of Industrial Engineering and Bachelor of Arts degrees and was a member of Alpha Pi Mu and Psi Chi honor societies. While there, Bob met his future wife, Margery Anne Sutherland. They were married in May 1960.

Bob joined the New York Air National Guard and was called into active duty during the Berlin Wall Crisis in 1961. He was sent to Phalsbourg, France, as a Statistical Analyst in the Comptroller’s office. He missed the birth of his first child, Ingrid, in March 1962, but was able to find a way home for a visit. He completed his military service in the Air Force Reserves that September. Though he served a relatively short time, being an Air Force Veteran meant a lot to him.

Bob worked as an industrial engineer at Crucible Steel and GAF in New York, and their second child, Louise, was born in 1967. Bob obtained an MS in Management Science at Binghamton University in 1969. Later that year the family moved to the Allentown area of Pennsylvania, where he worked for Pennsylvania Power and Light as a senior engineering manager until 1980.

Bob enjoyed many hobbies, including ceramics, woodworking, shortwave radio, electronics courses, and music. He made bookshelves, nightstands, and a king-sized bed frame, in addition to putting together a grandmother clock from a kit. He was a classic car aficionado and owned a ‘67 Mustang that he drove for many years.

He was an amateur musician his whole life. Some instruments he took up over the years were cornet, piano, guitar (acoustic and electric), organ, and ukulele. He also loved to sing. Bob sang in choirs and in community his whole life.

In 1980 the family moved to Las Vegas Nevada, where he worked as a senior engineering manager at Nevada Power until 1994. During their time in Las Vegas, Bob and Marge became active with Reformation Lutheran and St. Andrews Lutheran. At different times Bob served on the church council of each church and in various other capacities as well.

After retiring in 1994, Bob expanded what had always been a serious interest in photography, taking many classes at what is now Clark County Community College. In his retirement Bob and Marge purchased a cabin in Duck Creek, Utah, and they often enjoyed vacationing there in the summertime until they sold it in 2004. Bob enjoyed the quiet time there, exploring the area, doing maintenance on the cabin, and just relaxing.

When Margery became seriously ill with colon cancer in 2010, Bob devoted the next two years to her care, doing most of the shopping, cooking, and driving her to her job and medical appointments until she passed on October 28, 2012, in home hospice care. He and Margery loved each other very much. Though their marriage had its rocky years, they each acknowledged that the last decade was the best, and his loving devotion and care of her through her final illness showed his dedication to his life partner of 55 years.

After her passing, Bob renewed his interest in movies and film studies, amassing an impressive and eclectic DVD collection in addition to attending many movies at the theater. He became involved with Osher Lifetime Learning Institute (OLLI) in Las Vegas, attending film classes and subsequently serving both as an instructor and on the Film Festival Committee. He also renewed and deepened his love of opera during this time and became a regular attendee of the Met in HD livestream productions at the local cinema up until his last year of life.

Bob managed to make it through COVID without catching it, but age caught up with him in the 2020s, and in 2024 he agreed it would be best to move to a senior living community in California. He lived close to daughter Louise in Encinitas, first at Westmont of Encinitas and later in a memory care wing of Sunrise La Costa. Though he experienced cognitive decline during his last two years he was still able to enjoy family and even attended his granddaughter Carina’s wedding in 2025.

Bob passed in the early morning hours of June 17th, 2026, after a brief illness due to complications of Alzheimer’s.

Although Bob was an introvert, he believed in being a contributor to his community, and volunteered his service in many ways, including as a poll worker, on church committees, on the fire patrol in Duck Creek, with OLLI, as a volunteer tax preparer with AARP, as website manager of a classic car club, and much more. He was an enthusiastic lifelong learner and also a history buff.

He held family as one of the most important things in life and strove to have good relationships with family members, including keeping in touch with far-flung relatives. He was a Christian but open-minded about other traditions. He was a good friend, and friendly and considerate of others. He also loved cats and was a total pushover with every cat he and Marge ever owned. Although he was very intelligent, he never professed to have all the answers. As a father he was supportive and loving, always telling his daughters how proud he was of them. As a husband he was devoted through tough times and good times. He will be missed by many. Bob is survived by his daughters Ingrid Garland and Louise Julig, granddaughter Carina Lakey, and sister Karen Laposa.

A memorial will be held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 925 Balour Drive, Encinitas, at 11 a.m. September 5th, with lunch reception immediately following. A service with military honors and interment will be conducted at 10 am November 13th at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 1900 Veterans Memorial Drive, Boulder City, Nevada. In lieu of flowers, please donate in Bob’s memory to St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 8901 Del Webb Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89134, or Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 925 Balour Dr., Encinitas, CA 92024.