Robert William “Bob” Suelmann

Robert W. Suelmann, 88

Robert William Suelmann, husband, father, engineer, inventor, carpenter, and author, died January 16, 2018, at the age of 88.

Bob, the son of Bernard and Elizabeth Hardebeck Suelmann and the seventh of eight children, was born and raised in south St. Louis. He attended St. Boniface Catholic grade school. He had the third highest score in a St. Louis citywide exam to earn a full scholarship to St. Louis University High School.

He also attended Washington University in St. Louis on scholarship; he graduated with honors and third in his class with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. His master’s degree in electrical engineering was from the University of Pittsburgh.

His work experience with Westinghouse and later with McDonnell Douglas took the family to Pittsburgh and Sharon, Penn., Masury, Ohio; St. Louis; Houston, Texas; and St. Charles, Mo. While at Westinghouse, he filed a patent on a semi-conductor application. At McDonnell Douglas, he wrote software for the simulators the astronauts trained on for the Gemini space program, the simulators for the DC 10 and C5 airplanes, and on the Harpoon missile.

Bob retired in 1989 when he was 60 years old.

He played many sports, and he especially enjoyed bowling and golf. One night he bowled a perfect 300 game and an additional five more strikes in the next game to bowl 17 strikes in a row.

He was also a skilled carpenter, doing remodeling projects on every home in which the family lived. In 2017, he wrote and published “FED-Up, An Examination of the U.S. Monetary System.” It was a look at the Federal Reserve Corporation, which he called “the most powerful and destructive monopoly ever created and the major source of the U.S. national debt.”

Bob is survived by his wife, Mary, of 67 years; four children, Mary S. Reed of Jackson, TN, Christine Lodes (and the late Rich Lodes) of Lincoln, NE, Thomas Suelmann of Berlin, Germany, and Michael Suelmann of St. Charles; seven grandchildren, Mike Reed (and Clarissa), Matt Reed Moddelmog (and Ty), Caroline Reed Bromagen (and Tyler), Becky Lodes Neff (and Eric), Jim Lodes, Adam Suelmann and Nathan Suelmann; and three great-grandchildren, Max Reed, Reagan Neff and Riley Neff.

A memorial mass will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, January 27, at St. Cletus Catholic Church, 2705 Zumbehl Rd., St. Charles, Mo. 63301. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any memorials be made to the American Heart Association or St. Cletus Catholic Church. Baue Funeral Home is in charge of services.