Robert S. Gies ’42 died March 3, 2011.
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ROBERT S. GIES ’42
Bob Gies died of congestive heart failure on March 3, 2011, at age 93. His wife, Barbara, predeceased him by 11 months and his daughter Judith by 17 years.
Bob was born in 1918 in Upper Montclair, N.J. After graduating from Montclair High School in 1936, he spent two years at Rutgers. In 1939, he transferred to Amherst, his academic progress placing him in the Class of 1942. At Amherst, he joined DU and played on the baseball team.
Bob worked in real estate after leaving Amherst and then enlisted in the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in May 1941. He was commissioned in March 1942, a month before marrying Barbara Balmos of Montclair. After completing flight training, he spent the rest of the war as a pilot in the Naval Air Transport Service, flying DC-3s.
After the war, Bob remained in aviation for 10 years, doing airline, air cargo and corporation flying. Then, in 1955, he joined his father in the residential construction business, staying in that business until 1978. After retiring from active building, he continued his involvement in real estate and the renovation of older houses.
Bob is survived by his son, Roger ’69, of Oakland, Calif.