1925
Robert
2016
Robert F. Haworth
November 22, 1925 — November 12, 2016
On November 12, Robert Frank Haworth, 90, a longtime resident of Somerdale, NJ, passed away
peacefully in Minnetonka, MN, at the home of his daughter, of complications of acute kidney failure. He is survived by a younger brother, Walter E. Haworth, of Burlington, NJ and by three children - Lynne Allison Wagner (David) of Minnetonka, MN, Karen Anne Haworth Barkoff (Bruce) of Egg Harbor Twp, NJ, and Robert L. Haworth (Paula) of Reston, VA - and by two grandchildren, David and Drew Barkoff. His wife,Jean Starr Haworth (nee Roberts), pre-deceased him in 2008. They had been married 60 years.
Born November 22, 1925 in Baltimore, MD, he survived a series of early childhood illnesses and the hardships of the Great Depression to take an early interest in the (then) relatively new medium of radio. He became one of the youngest home amateur (HAM) radio operators in the country when he qualified for his broadcasting license (call sign W2PUA) in 1937, at age 12.
Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor, while still in high school, he began working as a
steamfitter's helper at Kaiser Corp. shipyard, in Camden, NJ. Upon graduation in mid-1943, he enlisted inthe U.S. Navy and, until 1946, served in the continental U.S. as an airborne radio and radar maintenance trainee and technician. While employed as an assistant in the chemistry laboratory at the Franklin Institute, in Philadelphia, he studied at night, for eight years, to earn a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering at Drexel Institute. He was employed as an Electrical Engineer at the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) facilities in Camden and Cherry Hill, NJ from 1953 to 1988, when he retired. A patent holder, his key accomplishments included leading the RCA team that designed the radio responsible for maintaining communications between Apollo Xl's Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) and Earth, as relayed via the lunar orbiter. It was this device that, in July 1969, enabled all of mankind to hear Neil Armstrong declare "one
small step for man..." as he set foot upon the Moon. During the 1970s and '80s, he provided his
engineering expertise to a number of classified Department of Defense projects, including nuclear
submarine communications.
His hobbies included studying the military history of the American Revolution, collecting and restoring antique radios, classic car repair, and sailboat building. He was a skilled craftsman in both wood and metal. Between 1960 and 1969, he personally constructed, from plans, one 18-foot wooden and one 29-foot Fiberglass sailboat - both completely seaworthy, with full sailing kit and auxiliary engines - in the back yard of his family's suburban home in Somerdale. He was a 32nd Degree Master Mason and an honored Brother in the Audubon-Parkside Lodge No. 218, of Audubon, NJ.
Relatives and friends are invited to meet Friday morning, Nov. 18, 2016, from 10 to 11 AM at the
CRERAN FUNERAL HOME, 400 WHITE HORSE PIKE, OAKLYN, NJ. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11 AM at the Funeral Home. Interment to follow. In lieu of flowers, please contribute to charity of your choice
400 White Horse Pike
Oaklyn, NJ, 08107
400 White Horse Pike
Oaklyn, NJ, 08107
40 Clementon Road
Berlin, NJ, 08009
peacefully in Minnetonka, MN, at the home of his daughter, of complications of acute kidney failure. He is survived by a younger brother, Walter E. Haworth, of Burlington, NJ and by three children - Lynne Allison Wagner (David) of Minnetonka, MN, Karen Anne Haworth Barkoff (Bruce) of Egg Harbor Twp, NJ, and Robert L. Haworth (Paula) of Reston, VA - and by two grandchildren, David and Drew Barkoff. His wife,Jean Starr Haworth (nee Roberts), pre-deceased him in 2008. They had been married 60 years.
Born November 22, 1925 in Baltimore, MD, he survived a series of early childhood illnesses and the hardships of the Great Depression to take an early interest in the (then) relatively new medium of radio. He became one of the youngest home amateur (HAM) radio operators in the country when he qualified for his broadcasting license (call sign W2PUA) in 1937, at age 12.
Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor, while still in high school, he began working as a
steamfitter's helper at Kaiser Corp. shipyard, in Camden, NJ. Upon graduation in mid-1943, he enlisted inthe U.S. Navy and, until 1946, served in the continental U.S. as an airborne radio and radar maintenance trainee and technician. While employed as an assistant in the chemistry laboratory at the Franklin Institute, in Philadelphia, he studied at night, for eight years, to earn a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering at Drexel Institute. He was employed as an Electrical Engineer at the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) facilities in Camden and Cherry Hill, NJ from 1953 to 1988, when he retired. A patent holder, his key accomplishments included leading the RCA team that designed the radio responsible for maintaining communications between Apollo Xl's Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) and Earth, as relayed via the lunar orbiter. It was this device that, in July 1969, enabled all of mankind to hear Neil Armstrong declare "one
small step for man..." as he set foot upon the Moon. During the 1970s and '80s, he provided his
engineering expertise to a number of classified Department of Defense projects, including nuclear
submarine communications.
His hobbies included studying the military history of the American Revolution, collecting and restoring antique radios, classic car repair, and sailboat building. He was a skilled craftsman in both wood and metal. Between 1960 and 1969, he personally constructed, from plans, one 18-foot wooden and one 29-foot Fiberglass sailboat - both completely seaworthy, with full sailing kit and auxiliary engines - in the back yard of his family's suburban home in Somerdale. He was a 32nd Degree Master Mason and an honored Brother in the Audubon-Parkside Lodge No. 218, of Audubon, NJ.
Relatives and friends are invited to meet Friday morning, Nov. 18, 2016, from 10 to 11 AM at the
CRERAN FUNERAL HOME, 400 WHITE HORSE PIKE, OAKLYN, NJ. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11 AM at the Funeral Home. Interment to follow. In lieu of flowers, please contribute to charity of your choice
Visitation
NOV 18. 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (EST)
Etherington & Creran Funeral Homes400 White Horse Pike
Oaklyn, NJ, 08107
Funeral Service
NOV 18. 11:00 AM (EST)
Etherington & Creran Funeral Homes400 White Horse Pike
Oaklyn, NJ, 08107
Interment
NOV 18 (EST)
Berlin Cemetery40 Clementon Road
Berlin, NJ, 08009
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