Obituary of Robert E Stoltenberg

Robert E. Stoltenberg passed away on March 17, 2023. He was 91 years young.

Bob was born to Edward W.H. Stoltenberg and Vera M. (Stratmann) Stoltenberg on February 16, 1932, in Ellsworth, Kansas. Along with the family, he moved to Holyrood, KS where he spent through his teenage years, and after graduating high school, the family moved to Wichita. He attended Fort Hays University before entering the US Navy (1952-1956) as an electronics technician.

After spending his required time in the Navy, he enrolled in Wichita State University where he pursued an Electrical Engineering degree. Active in church activities, he met the love of his life, Karen Beckel. They married on January 1, 1959, during the worst snowstorm Wichita had seen. He finalized his college career, graduating in 1960, and, that same summer, left with his wife in a homemade truck camper for a 6-week road trip to Alaska, where they saw many wondrous sites. Moving to Colorado in late 1960, he acquired a job at Colorado Research as a design engineer. Bouncing around several engineering jobs over the years, he finally retired from the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, CO at the age of 50. After retiring, he took on some consultant work until he decided they wanted to be able to travel more.

Traveling had been a lifelong quest, and had made several memorable trips throughout his life, notably a 3-month excursion to Australia and New Zealand in 1981. He and Karen found a love of Traditional Dixieland Jazz and attended many festivals across the country, making many lifelong friends, and being the talk of the events due to their ease and complexity of dancing. He enjoyed driving, and often rented cars to drive to the festivals, estimating he had driven over 2.3 million miles in his lifetime.

He had several hobbies beyond the jazz events including fishing, bird hunting, and woodworking. He made several pieces of beautiful furniture for their home over the years.

He is preceded in death by his parents, a sister (Betty), numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. He is survived by his brother, Bill, wife Karen, daughters, Kristi Stoltenberg-Majors (Tom) and Heidi Scardina (Scott), 9 grandchildren (4 step) and 4 great grandchildren (2 step).

Donations may be made to Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org).