Robert Reusser

ROBERT E. REUSSER Robert E. "Bob" Reusser, 89, longtime resident of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, passed away Monday, May 5, 2008, at Good Samaritan Nursing Center in Olathe, Kansas. Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Friday, May 9 at Neekamp-Luginbuel Funeral Home in Bartlesville. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Saturday, May 10, at First United Methodist Church, Bartlesville. Additional services to be held at 2:30 at the Deer Creek Mennonite Church in Deer Creek, Oklahoma. Online condolences may be left at www.honoringmemories.com. Services are under the direction of the Neekamp-Luginbuel Funeral Home. Bob was born on October 30, 1918, to Otto and Selma Reusser in Simpson, Saskatchewan, Canada. The family later settled in Deer Creek, Oklahoma, where Bob graduated from high school, playing on state finalist basketball teams his junior and senior years. He attended Northern Oklahoma Junior College and Oklahoma A&M University (now Oklahoma State University) before going on to Northwestern State College in Alva, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1940. Following graduation, he taught math and science and coached basketball and boxing at Glencoe, Oklahoma and later taught and coached football at Gore, Oklahoma Consolidated School. In 1942, he was drafted into Civilian Public Service, working as a hydrotherapist at a hospital in Provo, Utah. He married Mildred Vernon on July 2, 1943, and following WWII, they moved to Salt Lake City, where Bob obtained his Masters degree in organic chemistry from the University of Utah in 1949. Relocating to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Bob taught college chemistry at Northeastern State College. In 1953, Bob began his career as a research chemist at Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, where he would accumulate 77 U.S. patents and publish eight scientific papers. For these accomplishments, Phillips awarded Bob a place in its Distinguished Inventors Exhibit. His work included projects involving uranium, fertilizers, asphalts, rubber chemicals and aerosol propellants. He retired in 1983 after 30 years of service. In 1999, Bob received the Outstanding Alumni Award in the professional category from Northwestern State University, in Alva, for his research work at Phillips. He was instrumental in establishing a rural water district southwest of Bartlesville (Osage Water District #1) that initially served 128 families, growing to serve nearly 400 families today. Bob's entire life was devoted to pursuing knowledge and to helping others. Teaching was second nature to Bob, whether he was tutoring his children through high school chemistry or instructing a grandchild in how to fly a kite or catch a fish. He was a devoted husband, a loving father, and best friend to all his grandchildren, ensuring they knew the basics of nature and physical science. He was a longtime member of First United Methodist Church of Bartlesville. Bob is survived by three children, daughter Robbyn and husband Don Treadway Jr of Amarillo, Texas; son Randall (Randy) and wife Gaye Reusser of Valley Center, Kansas; and daughter Rochelle (Shelley) and husband Mike Rankin of Olathe, Kansas; six grandchildren, Jeff Treadway and wife Melissa, Stacey Treadway, Kory Rankin, Kelsey Rankin, David Thompson, GeorgiAnne Simpson and her husband Greg and two great grandchildren. Also surviving are sisters Maurine Kuehny and Lois Krehbiel, and brother Eugene Reusser and wife Norma. He was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Mildred on March 18, sister Orvilla Dester and brother Edward Reusser Memorial contributions may be made to the MUTUAL Building Expansion Fund, MUTUAL Girls Club, P.O. Box 2405, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 74005-2405.

Service Details

Saturday, May 10th, 2008 10:00am, First United Methodist Church Bartlesville

Interment Details