- Date Of Birth: October 23, 1934
- Date Of Death: December 27, 2017
- State: Colorado
Robert A. Engel
Robert A. Engel (10-23-1934, 12-27-2017) was born in 1934, and grew up on a farm near Ellis, Kansas, not far from the Cedar Bluff reservoir which he helped build. Farm life was interesting and lots and lots of hard work. High school was a 17 mile drive over dirt roads to Ellis, and grade school was about a mile walk east on the county road to Mapel Grove School a one room rural school. It has stood abandoned for many years since about 1960. So many stories to tell. Once we had flooding rains and Bob, Frank and Doug had to stop at a washed out bridge near Dad’s west field. The center of the bridge was gone but two ledges projected towards the center. Bob walked out on one ledge, then jumped across. As soon as he jumped across the ledge came crashing down into the rushing water. I was amazed at his luck. That was Bob, always taking calculated risks and always succeeding. He retired from IBM near Boulder Colorado as a warehouse manager. Bob made the warehouse very efficient always coming up with new ways to increase efficiency and save money. With his pension he joined an investment club and learned the ropes, building up a nice retirement fund. Along with his investing business he bought rental houses and did an admirable job as a landlord. His tenants were very fond of Bob. He fixed problems immediately and always kept his properties in tip top shape giving renters generally a better deal than the current market. After time in the Army when he left farm life, Bob returned and was married for a time, the father of a daughter and son. Tragically his daughter was killed in a car incident. Bob’s fortune on his death was substantial. He has donated his entire fortune to charity. Bob a lways wanted to accomplish things. I think he succeeded. He was quiet in his last few years. Even though he could have spent his final years relaxing and enjoying his success he forged on buying two houses in the last two years and living in and improving both of them. He was very fortunate in having his nephew Mike Engel to help with both these projects. Bob loved farming and farm equipment. He died with a large collection of original farm equipment models that he got from dealers and at auctions. I attended an auction in Kansas with him where a large collection was sold for thousands. Bob also had a small gun and coin collection, all very well organized. I will miss Bob, a fellow I greatly admired.
