Electrician had 30-year O-I career

7/28/2006

Robert H. Schaub, 75, an electrician who worked around the country and overseas during a career of more than 30 years at Owens-Illinois Inc., died of a heart attack Wednesday in his South Toledo home.

He retired from O-I in 1988 after an assignment with the plastic bottle division as a project manager in Italy. He and his wife, Lena, moved to southern Italy for the assignment, and returned to visit several times, Mrs. Schaub said.

"We made some really nice friends," she said.

Mr. Schaub was a young electrician for the former New York Central Railroad when he was hired by O-I. He began his career at the former technical center on Westwood Avenue. As he advanced, he was assigned to O-I sites around the country, including in New Jersey and Maryland.

For most assignments, his wife and children stayed in Toledo. With one daughter still at home, the family moved to Louisiana when he was assigned to Shreveport. He was happy with his work, wherever it took him.

"He enjoyed people, and he always liked a challenge," she said.

He was a consultant in retirement.

He worked at the Toledo Zoo in the early 1990s and helped oversee renovation of the Animal Care Center - even seeking donations from human hospitals. He later was a zoo volunteer.

Also in retirement, he was grounds committee chairman for seven years beginning in the mid-1990s of the LPGA tournament then called the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic.

"He loved seeing the success of [the tournament] and how it got his friends involved," his daughter, Debbie Newsome, said.

He liked to golf and was a former member of Brandywine Country Club.

Mr. Schaub was a graduate of Libbey High School and attended the University of Toledo.

Surviving are his wife, Lena, whom he married Nov. 4, 1950; daughters, Debbie Newsome, Merry Schaub, and Robin Guidera; brother, Bill Schaub, and five grandchildren.

Memorial services will be at 3 p.m. tomorrow in the Coyle Funeral Home, where the family will greet friends after 1 p.m. tomorrow.

The family suggests tributes to the American Cancer Society or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.