Arthur "Bob" Robert Urbach

Bob Urbach was born on January 7, 1934, to Arthur and Minnie Urbach in Bayard, Nebraska. He spent his childhood through high school working on the family farm in western Nebraska. He received his first taste of flying in an airplane at age seven when he entered and won a contest with Piper Aircraft. That first flight left a lasting impression and sparked a love of flying that stayed with him for the rest of his life. Bob attended the University of Wyoming for two years, then joined the Army and was stationed in Southern California. After two years in the Army, Bob left the military and finished his education at the Northrop Institute of Technology, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering. It was in Los Angeles that he met two of the most important people in his life: his future wife, Rose, at dancing lessons, and his best friend, Ralph Talent, while carousing through the LA social scene.

After a few years living in Beverly Hills, Bob, Rose, and their firstborn daughter, Cathy, moved to Boulder, Colorado, where Bob went to work for Beech Aircraft and then Ball Aerospace. At Ball, Bob was Senior Systems Engineering Manager and an integral member of the project team that built the IRAS telescope. Bob received a Group Achievement Award from NASA for his work on the project, which was eventually displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

In retirement, Bob renewed his private pilot’s license, built and flew his own plane - a Warner Revolution - Spacewalker I - and spent many happy hours on the golf course. After the untimely death of Rose, he fell in love again and married Faye Pekarek. Together, they traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe.

He is survived by Cathy, James, and Christy Urbach Bathje, and four grandchildren, Alex, Hannah, Ella, and Jenna.