More detail on this person: WINTER HAVEN -
Robert "Rob" Lanier Krieger, a prominent Winter
Haven businessman, philanthropist, and decorated
Vietnam War helicopter pilot, died Thursday,
February 14, 2013 in Indian River County of
injuries received in an airplane accident. He was
65.
Born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania on June 5, 1947,
the Krieger family moved to Winter Haven in 1951
when Rob's father became a civilian flight
instructor at Bartow Air Base. He attended schools
in Winter Haven, graduating from Winter Haven High
in 1965 and from what was then Polk Junior College
in 1967.
Soon after graduation, Rob was drafted into the
Army and was quickly singled out for Officer
Candidate School, following which he entered
helicopter training. His dual tours of Vietnam
extended to 1972 when he was honorably
discharged with the rank of captain. As a member
of the "Razorbacks", he piloted gunships,
reconnaissance missions, medical evacuations as
well as occasionally transporting the brass,
including Gen. William Westmoreland.
From his two combat tours, Rob was awarded,
among other medals, the Bronze Star Medal for
distinguished meritorious service, the Army
commendation medal and the air medal for heroism.
Rob returned to Winter Haven with the savings he
had accumulated from Army service and purchased
New Electric. Starting with two trucks and one
employee, Rob grew his business one customer at
a time. He had started working at New Electric at
age 15 and earned his journeyman electrician's
license. Krieger Electric has now grown to 30
employees and is a major residential, commercial,
and industrial contractor in Central Florida. It
is a mark of his qualities as an employer that
over a dozen employees have been with him over 20
years, some as long as 35 years.
Dedicated to the interests of his customers, Rob
was known to work all night during freezes to
restore electricity to his clients. In recognition
of his high quality work and many years of
service, he received the Gold Cup of Industry
award from the Winter Haven Chamber of
Commerce in 1992.
He was a founding board member of Commerce
Bank of Central Florida and later served on the
board of Citrus and Chemical Bank. He also was a
member of the Winter Haven Economic
Development Council, Main Street Winter Haven,
and the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce.
While Rob supported many causes - including
Champagne & Shamrocks, the Bach Festival of
Central Florida and was a member of the Vietnam
Helicopter Pilots Association and Airplane Owners
& Pilots Association - his great passion was the
Citrus Center Boys & Girls Clubs, on whose board
he served for many years, two as president. Rob
and Nancy also established the Krieger Family
Scholarship at Polk State College.
Far more than just a dedicated board member, Rob
regarded his service at the Citrus Center Boys &
Girls Clubs as a calling. While he was quick to
accord credit to others for the many accolades
that came his way, those who knew of his
involvement remember his very substantial if very
private support of the club, especially during
perilous financial times - which tended to be the
club's norm. Through his work, hundreds if not
thousands of children's lives were impacted for
the better. His contributions continued to the end
of his life.
"He didn't grow up with a lot," his daughter Kelly
said, "and saw in those kids something of what he
had gone through himself. It resonated with him
and he wanted to help them. In so doing, his
kindness became an instrument of his success."
While not engaged in business or civic duties, Rob
loved his role as "the trail boss of Rock Ridge
Ranch", his life long dream of peace and happiness
with his family north of Polk City, where his
avocation was cattle ranching. Bulls were named
after family members and goats after his wife's
aunts. "If you get named," she once observed, "you
don't get eaten." In addition to woods and rolling
pastures, Rob was working on a specially
constructed pond with an island to attract the
wild waterfowl he so loved to see in flight.
Duck hunting, but more importantly, the Camp
Mack camaraderie were unarguably some of Rob's
greatest pleasures. If there was anyone who could
amplify the excitement for a new season to his
fellow hunters at the Quack Shack and the KRDSC,
it was Rob Krieger. Rain or shine, limit or
skunked, empty-handedness was never an option
for Rob. Being in the presence of nature on Lake
Kissimmee and working with his faithful retriever
were plenty to satisfy Rob's simple needs.
Another huge pleasure was fishing, which Rob
pursued with abandon. Skilled with a fly rod, he
fished literally everywhere he could, from the
Florida Keys to Maine waters to Western rivers,
finding great joy and satisfaction in each
pursuit. The ocean, said his daughter Kelly, was
"part of his soul."
A gregarious, imposing man with an outsized and
lopsided smile, Rob customarily greeted each of
his battalion of friends with a kind word and
frequently a story, of which he had an ample
supply. While he loved the outdoors, he was also
an avid reader, known to ignore all distractions
in order to pursue his favorite Westerns, the
novels of Hemingway and the works of Richard
Wheeler, a writer who became a friend. When not
pursuing his other ventures, his son Robbie
remembers, he enjoyed a good cigar, a roaring fire
and a fine glass of chardonnay.
An optimistic gentleman with infectious
enthusiasm, he was deeply engaged with his
family. Rob, his wife remembers, "had working hard
and playing hard down to a science," and she
prefers his life be honored with this thought: "In
the fall and the spring, when you see a gobbler, a
duck flying on Lake Kissimmee, a bonefish tailing
in the keys or a trout rising on Yellowstone
River, we will remember you. You helped make our
world so beautiful."
His appreciation of family, work, community and
country stemmed from his experiences at war. "I
should have been killed a dozen times in Vietnam,"
he once told a friend, "and when I got out of
there safely I vowed I wouldn't waste a day of my
life, that I would see every sight and do
everything I possibly could in this world."
Rob was preceded in death by his father, Gilbert
Krieger. In addition to his wife Nancy, to whom he
was married for 25 years, he is survived by son
Robert "Robbie" Lanier Krieger II, daughter Kelly
Elizabeth Krieger and mother Toni Krieger, all of
Winter Haven; brother Kenneth and Kay Krieger of
Cape Coral; sister Kathi Krieger Barr of Winter
Haven; brother-in-law Calvin and Pam Eaker of
Delray Beach; nephews Tobey Barr of Weeki
Wachee and Paul Krieger of Marietta Georgia;
niece Karen Krieger of Cape Coral; and his best
hunting buddy, his chocolate lab "Brown."
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations
be made to the Citrus Center Boys & Girls Club,
2400 Havendale Blvd., Winter Haven Florida 33881.
A visitation is planned for Tuesday, February
19th, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the club on
Havendale Blvd. A "Celebration of the Captain" is
planned for Wednesday, February 20th beginning at
4:00 p.m. at Rock Ridge Ranch, the Krieger family
home, located at 17090 Rock Ridge Road, Polk
City, Florida 33868.
Condolences may be sent to the family at
www.oakridgefuneralcare.com
Published in News-Chief from February 18 to
February 19, 2013
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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