Robert Henry “Bob” Sommer, 80, a resident of Warrenton, Va., who recently turned back to God, went home to his Lord and Savior on Dec. 15, 2022. His daughter Elizabeth was by his side as he slipped life’s surly bonds. 

Robert Henry Sommer was born in East St. Louis, Illinois on March 25, 1942, to Joseph Anthony and Octavia Sommer (nee Haberl.) He grew up with his seven siblings in Waterloo where he loved swimming at the local lake and became a lifeguard and proficient diver. His family owned the Southern Hotel on Main Street and he helped the family with running the hotel, and bar. 

After graduating from Ss. Peter & Paul High School, and undergraduate studies in Kansas City, Robert joined the U.S. Air Force in 1962. Bob’s first permanent duty station took him to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, where his engineering expertise had him working on advanced communications equipment on the F-101 Voodoo, an early supersonic jet fighter, and the recently introduced F-4 Phantom II, a two-seat, twin tandem-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber.

While assigned to duty at Langley AFB he met and married Mary Helen Hayes. His next assignment took him and his young wife to Bentwaters Air Force Base in the United Kingdom, 85 miles northeast of London. Bentwaters was a UK Royal Air Force Station from WWII that transferred control to the U.S. Air Force in 1951 for the duration of the Cold War. Their son Michael Richard was born while Bob served in England. In addition to his normal duties, Bob found himself in Tripoli, Libya. several times on missions to Wheelus AFB where F-4 Phantoms were rotated in as deterrents to the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

In 1966, Bob completed his Air Force service, but began a new, long and distinguished career in service to our country and national defense. After a few years in industry, Bob took his talents back to a place where he could apply his expertise, initiative and passion in furtherance of our national security. He became a Department of the Army civilian assigned to Vint Hill Farms Station in Warrenton, Va., doing signals warfare research. His work went well beyond the Army. The mission had changed to research, development and support of intelligence and electronic warfare for the Army, the Department of Defense entities including the National Security Agencies and U.S. Allies.

He worked on many programs throughout his career impacting safety and strategy for our service members in theater. He took great pride in engineering products for the military faster and at a fraction of the cost bid by other providers in the private and government sectors. After 23 years in the U.S. government, Bob retired in 1997 and contracted with several government and private sector companies. His last project was working for Boeing on Future Combat Systems as a subject matter expert in the field of Signals Intelligence, detecting, exploiting and geolocating emitters. He finished his career with Boeing in May 2008 with the Poseidon P-8A training group.

During his career Bob was rightfully proud of his teams’ accomplishments. But he was equally proud of a legacy of empowering, mentoring and creating upward mobility for those whose careers continue to flourish. That spirit of giving and caring continued into his volunteer work when he returned to Warrenton in November, 2021, where he worked in a program known as Hero’s Bridge that helps veterans overcome obstacles in many aspects of life.

Robert’s sense of humor and storytelling were his hallmark. He loved working outside, deep sea, river, lake and fly fishing, singing, whistling and passing on his knowledge to others.

He is survived by his former wife, Mary Hayes Sommer; his daughter, Elizabeth Diane Sommer; two grandchildren Victoria Sommer Spratt and Jonathan Michael Sommer and four siblings, Norene (Walter) Becker, Mary (Ronald) Wallace, Richard (Jane) Sommer and Dorothy (Chris) Homeier; as well as many beloved nieces, nephews, godchildren, and extended grandchildren Raymond and Addison Rau.

He was predeceased by his son Michael “Mike” Richard Sommer; sisters, Ruth Sommer, Laverne (Paul) Diekemper, and Jeannette (Bill)Theobald; his parents, Joseph Anthony Sommer and Octavia Sommer (nee Haberl); and second wife, Joan (nee McGinnis) Sommer. 

A celebration of Bob’s life is planned for March in Waterloo.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Bob’s memory to Grounded No More Veteran Flight Lift. Bob appreciated this Veteran Charity and was regularly spotted giving away and wearing their ball caps in support of their mission. Though he did not get the opportunity to fly with this Arizona-based organization, he was a big supporter and advocate of their mission.