Robert "Bob" H. Vaterlaus ’47

Bob Vaterlaus was a caring and quiet man, whose cherished friendships lasted long and ran deep. He died peacefully of cancer at home in Orinda, Calif., on Oct. 16, 1999.

Born Robert Hans Vaterlaus, son of Hans and Claire Vaterlaus, in Yokohama, Japan, in 1926, he grew up in Tuckahoe, N.Y., where he attended Roosevelt H.S. before entering Princeton. After serving with the US Army in Germany, he returned to complete his degree in engineering supplemented by study at Columbia U.

Many of his 29 years working as a structural engineer with Kaiser Aluminum were spent in Australia, where he failed to pick up an accent, but acquired several authentic works of aboriginal art. Widely traveled, his concern for others extended into all quarters. As he said in '47's 40th yearbook entry, he "had always taken for granted that, upon leaving it, the world would be a little better off than when I entered it." After retiring in 1985, Bob continued to work as a consultant civil engineer, often collaborating with his architect son.

To Barbara, Bob's wife of 39 years; his sons, Richard and Robert; and his sister, Heidi Muller, the class extends its deepest sympathy, and joins in celebrating a warmly remembered life.

The Class of 1947