Robert J. Subr
Burial Details
Obituaries
Steamboat Pilot and Today - April 4, 2019
Robert John Subr, 91, passed away in Tucson, Arizona Sunday, March 31, 2019 with his family by his side. A Rosary will be held at 9:00 a.m. with a Funeral Mass to follow at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, April 11, 2019 at Holy Name Catholic Church in Steamboat Springs, CO. Interment be held Steamboat Springs Cemetery.
Steamboat Pilot and Today - April 9, 2019
The Legacy of the Fathers of the Super Subr’s
By Maggie Subr (his wife)
The members of our family are known to each other as the Super Dad, Super Mom, Super Rob, Super Jon and Super Baby Girl Joanna.
Bob was the self-made man. He was a high school drop-out. The remedy back in Bob’s day for rebellious kids was for parents to sign them up with the military. So, Bob’s dad did that. Bob ended up in the Navy on a sub-chaser for a year until WW II ended. Bob said he met the most incredible people who mentored and protected him. He went home, he finished high school and got a couple of years of college under his belt.
During that time Bob found out that the U.S. government was selling airplanes cheap from the war. For a couple of hundred dollars he could buy an airplane in need of a lot of repair. (Bob knew how to fly as a young kid. He had lived near a local airport in Chicago. Bob washed private-owned airplanes. The owners of the planes paid Bob by teaching him to fly.)
So, Bob bought an airplane. It needed repair and Bob and his mom used to laugh about how Bob would tie the airplane engine to a tree in the backyard to test Bob’s repairs. Neighbor were not happy. Bob did get his plane flying. He did crop dusting and “girlie rides.”
Bob heard the Army Air Corp was looking for young men to train as pilots. Bob signed up and became a second lieutenant. Shortly thereafter, the Army Air Corp became the Air Force. Bob’s military career lasted 28 years. He retired as a lieutenant colonel having had command of two fighter squadrons. One in Germany flying F102’s and in Vietnam flying F4’s.
It was om Germany at Hahn Air Force Base where Bob and I met. I was teaching in the DOD schools. Bob was the handsome officer in a flying suit. It was a mutual friend, Betty, who introduced us. I didn’t think I should talk to Bob because he looked too old not to be married. One of the first things Bob said to me was, “I will never date you because people will assume I would be getting married to you.” Well, Bob did ask me out, and as we went out Bob would invite whoever to join us. This happened a couple more times. I finally told Bob if he wanted to date “the group,” that would be fine, but don’t invite me. That was the beginning of our long romantic and fun relationship.
We were married in a little village in Germany by Father Bob Whalen. The villagers stood in the back of the church. They said it looked like a Hollywood production.
The legacy Bob leaves to our children and this world are his optimistic energy for life as God’s gift to us, his kindness, his passion, his generosity, his sincerity and his love for God. The first time I went to Church with Bob, seeing Bob on his knees before God, I knew Bob was a godly man., an honest man. He truly was Super Bob, Super Dad. Thank You, Jesus, for making our wonderful life with Bob possible.
