Robert Raymond Walters
June 27, 1928 - November 14, 2015
        

Robert Raymond Walters of Bayside, Wisconsin, entered Eternal Life, Saturday, November 14, 2015 at New Castle Place surrounded by his loving family.  Robert was born June 27, 1928 in Racine, Wisconsin to Robert Nicolas Theodore and Elsa Bertha Elizabeth (Ahrens) Walters. 

He graduated from Racine Horlick High School in 1946.   Bob then enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed in Japan from 1946 through 1947.  Upon returning, he enrolled in the University of Wisconsin Racine extension.  It was there where he met Margaret Jean Weisbert of Kenosha, Wisconsin.  They were married on June 16, 1951.  He graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry.    

During his high school years, Bob worked evenings at J. I. Case loading train cars with machinery.  In spite of these long hours after school, he graduated with honors.  When he returned from the Army, Bob began working at InSinkErator to raise funds for college.  During the summers of 1949 – 1951, Bob worked evenings at the Racine Water Works where he was entrusted with controlling water quality and pressure.      

After graduating from UW Madison, Bob started his professional career as a Research Chemist at the Olin Matheison Chemical Company in Niagara Falls, NY where he worked on Boron Hydride chemistry.  He returned to Wisconsin, where he continued his career at Bjorksten Research Laboratories in Madison, WI, working on Borane chemistry research.  From there he worked at Fansteel in Chicago, IL developing novel metal alloys for use in products such as Tungsten ignition points, Tungsten filaments, Carbide cutting tools, Selenium and Tantalum rectifiers, and Tantalum capacitors.  He found this work very rewarding and challenging.   He was invited to work at Argonne National Laboratory in 1956 working on detection of radiation emissions from nuclear power plants.   While employed, he continued his education at the University of Chicago to further his knowledge of Nuclear Chemistry, Nuclear Physics, Reactor Design, Statistical Thermal Dynamics, and Quantum Mechanics.  His group chemically isolated fission products emitted into the environment.  Analysis was performed by neutron activation of fission products into the nanogram range.  This information could be used to identify the type of reactor and its location.    From there he worked for the High Temperature Chemistry Group developing synthetic nuclear fuels.   He was able to work with many visiting scientists from the U.K., Japan, and India as well as many post-doctoral people who studied this type of chemistry.   During Bob’s time in this group, he was responsible for training undergraduate students who spent part of their senior year at Argonne.    

In 1970, Bob moved to Allen Bradley as a Research Chemist where he worked until his retirement in 1995. He started working on photoconductors for electrical controls.  One of the first applications was for a product called Stargazer used for space navigation using illumination from starlight.  He then developed photoconductors to be used as Gamma and X-ray ray detectors.  He then moved to inorganic chemical process development and analysis as well as control of   corporate chemical stores.  This position included responsibility for processes such as plating, coating, and parts cleaning used in the manufacturing process.   Bob’s previous background allowed incorporation of process improvement and involvement with engineering divisions resulting in improved quality control.  It was a joy for Bob to combine science and math for this purpose.  His impact extended to both the technical and management domains at Allen Bradley.  Bob worked with a team to develop high dielectric materials based upon incorporating substoichaiometric niobium oxide coatings for capacitors leveraging his experience gained previously at Fansteel.  He worked extensively on plating and coating and wrote the standards for Allen Bradley for measurement techniques to determine corrosion resistance.  He also wrote specifications for color coating resistance to UV light exposure as well as ISO 9000 procedures.  Additional achievements included improving contactor lubrication to extend life to 20 million cycles.  Because of his Argonne experience, Bob was made the Radiation Safety Officer that included monitoring industrial processes and environmental locations.  Bob was appointed head of the Allen Bradley Chemical, Physics, and Metals labs.  He also served as President of the Allen Bradley Science Club given his experience working across multiple disciplines.     

Bob was a member of the American Chemical Society and a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists.  He held numerous patents and authored several peer reviewed technical papers.     

Bob always felt that his career provided a chemical insight into God’s hand in our universe which strengthened his faith in His Savior.   Paraphrasing General MacArthur, Dad liked to say, “Old Chemists never die, they just fade away.”  

Bob is survived by his wife Margaret Jean.  He is preceded in death by his parents, and also siblings Richard, Doris Spencer, Mildred Scheuerman, Arthur, and William.  He is survived by Edna (LeRoy) Roberts, Lydia (Harvey) Erickson, and Edward (Alice) Walters.   

He cherished his children Nancy Lee (Mark) Wojcicki of Pewaukee, WI, Jonathan (Mary) Walters of Milwaukee, WI, Roberta (Fritz) Theilacker of Waukesha, WI, Karl (Mary) Walters of Temecula, CA, and Sarah (Jerry) Mladenik of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA.  

Grandchildren include: Michael Wojcicki, Kathryn (Wojcicki) Wilson, Andrew and Benjamin Walters, Evan, Zoe, Emma, and Christian McMiller, Amelia Walters, Jacob and Brooke Mladenik. 

Bob was actively engaged at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Glendale, WI.  He exemplified his faith and love for Christ, his Savior, through continuous service in the church as well as daily life.  He especially enjoyed encouraging young people to explore the fields science and math. 

Services will be held on Sunday, November 22nd at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 7877 N. Port Washington Road, Glendale, WI 53217.  Visitation will start at noon followed by a Celebration of Life service at 2:00 pm.  Interment will be held with full military honors at 9:30 am Monday, November 23rd at Wisconsin Memorial Park in Brookfield, Wisconsin. 

In lieu of flowers, donations to St. John’s Lutheran Church and School would be appreciated.