Robert Wesley Stecher's Obituary
Robert Wesley Stecher, Jr. was with family and loved ones when he passed away on October 29, 2022. He was 72 years old.
Bob was born on April 17, 1950, the first born to Robert W. Stecher, Sr. and Barbara McCormack Stecher of Honolulu, HI, where his father was stationed with the U.S. Navy. Bob’s two sisters, Elizabeth Baggs and Linda Kramer, were born within the next five years and, together, the family moved over fifteen times in furtherance of his father’s naval career.
From an early age, Bob’s passions included building things and sailing. His engineering aptitude earned him the status of amateur boat builder as a young teenager when he constructed a dinghy in one afternoon; he also owned and raced a Flying Dutchman in Norfolk, where he and his sister Elizabeth taught sailing lessons on the Navy base.
It was also in Norfolk where Bob met the love of his life when he was serendipitously seated behind Deborah Ann Stanley in high school homeroom. The two quickly fell in love, and Bob spent time tutoring Debbie in algebra, going to the movies and taking her for many a sail. They wed on January 10, 1970 and were inseparable throughout their fifty-two years of marriage.
Bob was proud to attend the U.S. Naval Academy with the class of 1972, going on to graduate with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. Bob and Debbie’s first daughter, Kimberly, was born in California before the family returned to the East Coast where Bob completed his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975.
After graduating, Bob began a career at General Electric where he advanced through the ranks across many industries, including nuclear power, engines, motors, and aerospace, to name a few. He and Debbie added to their family with daughters Tamara and Mary Elizabeth. Together, they moved to numerous cities throughout US until retiring from GE in 2000. Bob went on to work with Clayton, Dubilier and Rice, running several of the firm’s portfolio companies. Notably, he and Debbie spent some of their best years in the small town of Steinenbach, Germany, outside of Munich, where Bob worked with airplane manufacturer Fairchild Dornier. Always seeking to further knowledge, Bob would spend his spare time stargazing through his telescope in the meadows that surrounded their home. Additionally, he and Debbie traveled much of Europe during this time, while he reminisced about the five-month tour of Europe he’d taken during childhood with his parents and sisters.
Bob and Debbie retired to Annapolis in 2002, where he consulted for various companies from his home office overlooking the Severn River. Between conference calls, it was not uncommon to see Bob sitting at his desk with binoculars, commenting on an unsuspecting helmsman’s sail trim. Bob recently donated his 42-foot sloop to the Boy Scouts of Annapolis.
Above all, Bob loved his family and sought to spend time with them in any capacity. He saw the best in everyone and strove to help people achieve their fullest potential. He will be remembered for his intense work ethic, brilliance, and sense of humor, traits that he instilled in his children and grandchildren.
Bob is survived by his wife, Deborah Stecher of Annapolis, three children, Kimberly Stecher of Severna Park, MD, Tamara Dluzyn and her husband Steve of New Canaan, CT, and Mary Elizabeth Fockler and her husband Drew of Severna Park, MD; grandchildren include, Robert Owen Bradford (20), Sophie Elizabeth Dluzyn (14), Charlotte Ann Dluzyn (11), Daxton Reed Fockler (3), Griffin Wade Fockler (3), Delilah Drew Fockler (2), McKenna Raye Fockler (18), Reese Malone Fockler (13), Bennett Anne Fockler (12) and mother-in-law, whom he loved, Mary Stanley of Norfolk, VA.
A Celebration of Life will be held during the Summer of 2023; details to follow. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Bob may be directed to support the Kimmel Center at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Please make checks payable to Johns Hopkins University. Gifts may be mailed with a memo indicating that the gift is in the memory of Robert W. Stecher to the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, P.O. Box 49143, Baltimore, MD 21297-9143 or make a gift online at Hopkinscancer.org.
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