Our beloved husband and father Robert C. Ehling (Bob, or “Mr. E”) passed suddenly and unexpectedly on January 22 after a long illness. Entrepreneur, benefactor, raconteur and rogue, he will be sorely and deeply missed.
Bob was born and raised in Jersey City by his father Ernest, a beat patrolman, music teacher and Mason, and his mother, Violet, a homemaker. Bob worked from an early age as a bicycle messenger for Western Union and a delivery boy for a butchery. He was an avid outdoorsman, beginning with hunting, fishing and trapping the Meadowlands.
Bob attended Rutgers University’s Engineering Program on a mathematics scholarship but did not graduate, choosing marriage and a career in electronics contracting over further academic pursuits. He started, bought and sold several small electronics businesses, specializing in analog instrumentation and serving customers including the US Government, AT&T, and the greater Bell System, building and selling items such as volt/ohm/ammeters for telephone line repairmen, as well as panel instruments for locomotives, combat aircraft, surface to air missile systems, and the M-1 Abrams tank. Having never really retired, Bob was still an active consultant to Custom Metering, one of his first businesses, at the time of his death. He was also an ardent gardener, specializing in heirloom tomatoes, and a real estate investor, and manager of commercial properties.
Bob moved his family to Sparta in 1963 for a better quality of life. He was very fond of our town and its people, an active member of the community, and a benefactor and contributor to local causes, including Sparta’s student athletes and our VFW. He was also active in municipal politics, advising candidates for local office including our former Mayor, Jerry Murphy.
Bob is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Helen, three sons (William, Richard, and Robert D.), their spouses (Helen, Michel, and Monika) and three grandsons (Zachary, John, and Finn).
In lieu of flowers, donations in Bob’s name can be made to VFW Post #7248, 66 Main St, Sparta Township, NJ 07871.
A celebration of Bob’s life will be held later this year, most likely in early summer.
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