More detail on this person: The Memorial
service for Robert 'Bob' Lee Weikel were held on
Sunday, September 7th at the Lorraine United
Methodist Church. Burial will be at a later date
in Baltimore, MD. Mr. Weikel, 68 of Co. Rt. 95,
Lorraine, passed away September 2, at home under
the care of his family and Hospice of Jefferson
County. He was born in Baltimore, MD, a son of
Stewart Fredrick Weikel and Helen May Wright
Weikel. He graduated from Baltimore City College
in 1964. He entered the Army in 1966, graduating
from OCS as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1967. After OCS,
he volunteered for training as an Army aviator and
in 1968 graduated from Army helicopter training
school. Robert served in Viet Nam from 1968-1969
with the 121st and 336th Assault Helicopter Co's.
He was awarded the Air medal and Bronze Star.
Robert left active duty in 1971 as a Captain after
serving 5 years. He spent many years in the Army
Reserve units and was promoted to Major in the
Reserves in 1982. Robert was placed on the
inactive retirement list in 1987. After leaving
active duty, he attended and graduated from Embry
Riddle Aeronautical University in 1973 with a BS
degree in Aviation Management. He also took
graduate courses in business at the University of
Maryland, College park, MD. He worked many
years as a flight instructor and independent
contractor and remodeler. The family moved to
Northern New York in 1988. He eventually became
a real property assessor, resigning due to ill
health. Robert enjoyed woodworking, golf, American
history and aviation. Robert is survived by his
wife of 36 years, Shirley Ann (Macklen) Weikel,
Lorraine, NY.
VHPA member Art Jacobs adds: Bob and I were
Sigma Chi fraternity brothers at Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University in 1973-1974 after we had
gone back to school when our Army obligations
were finished. We both worked in Washington, DC
after graduation in 1975-1976. We often got
together there, and even drove down to Daytona
Beach from DC a couple of times together for long
weekends. Bob and Shirley Macklen were married
for 36 years. I knew Shirley in Vietnam. She was
an Army nurse I had first met at Fort Sam Houston
in late 1967 when I attended the Medevac / Air
Rescue school right after Flight School on the way
to Vietnam. Bob and I would only discover this
additional coincidence in our lives after we had
connected in DC after college. Bob and I also
volunteered to coach an all-girls softball team in
Maryland the Spring of 1976. Twenty single girls
between 18 and 28, most of whom had never played
before ("Okay, to the left is 3rd base, and to
your right is 1st base - please go there first.")
It was both challenging and as fun as flying low
level with no doors! I last saw Bob and Shirley
just before the VHPA reunion in Philadelphia. My
son Scott and I had decided to take a road trip
enroute to the reunion and visit the Halls of Fame
for football, baseball, and basketball. Lorraine,
NY was an easy dogleg on the road between
Canton and Cooperstown. Bob was the same kind
and generous man I had known since school, and
he and Shirley took us on a tour of Lorraine where
she grew up. Like most tiny villages, our visit
made the local newspaper's social column. The
world will miss this gentle man, doting husband,
and dedicated father.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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