Died February 2, 1939 – April 17, 2018,Gainesville, VA
College: Saybrook
Major: Civil Engineering
Graduate School: Yale, M.E., Civil Engineering, 1964
Widow: Mrs. Kathleen N. Kress
6328 Anoka Way
Gainesville, VA 20155
571-284-6156
908-400-9680 (mobile)
rkress61@comcast.net; rkress@princeton.edu
Children: Julie Becker, 1969; Joann Hardy, 1971
Grandchildren: Ryan Becker, 2007; Nicholas Hardy, 2007; Lily Hardy, 2011
Robert W. Kress, 79, of Gainesville, VA passed away on April 17, 2018 at the Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, surrounded by his loving family.
Bob was born in Noank, CT on February 2, 1939, the son of Adele P. and Carl C. Kress. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Kathleen Nicholson Kress, and their daughters and sons-in-law, Julie K. and Jeffrey Becker, currently residing in Prague in the Czech Republic; and Joann K. and Michael Hardy of Clifton, VA. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Ryan Becker, Nicholas Hardy and Lily Hardy who were, and will always be, the loves and eternal lights of their PopPop’s life. Also surviving are his cousins Irene McDonough of Stonington, CT; and Marie Craddock of New London, CT; his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Karen and Robert Wardrop of Newington, CT; and his nephew James Wardrop of Cromwell, CT.
Bob was a graduate of Fitch High School in Groton, CT, and earned civil engineering degrees from Yale University in 1961 and 1964. He was elected a Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2009.
Before relocating to Heritage Hunt in March of 2016, Bob and his wife lived in Skillman, NJ for 40 years. Bob was employed by Princeton University until 2009 as a facilities construction manager where he oversaw the successful completion of many projects on this beautiful academic campus. He was also civic minded and served on his municipality’s township committee for many years and was elected mayor for two terms. He was one of the driving forces in making certain that a Memorial Park to all of the township’s Veterans be built and, after many years of trying to get this project off the ground, the Memorial Park was dedicated on November 11, 2011. His sports interests were his beloved Boston Red Sox and, of course, his never ending quest to break 100 on the golf course, any golf course.
A Mass of Remembrance will be held in the Chapel at the Baker-Post Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 10001 Nokesville Road, Manassas, on Friday, April 27, 2018 at 11 a.m. Guests are invited to arrive after 10:00 a.m. to pay respect to Bob’s family.
Interment will take place in New Jersey at a later date.
In lieu of flowers or other expressions of sympathy, the family requests that consideration be given to making a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, P. O. Box 50, Memphis, TN 38101-9929.
Please sign the guestbook at www.bakerpostfh.com.
Dear Family and Friends,
It is with great sadness that we share the news that my husband and our dad, Bob Kress, passed away on April 17 due to complications from a rare autoimmune disease. The last few months have been very challenging for all of us, and most especially for Bob, but as he approached anything and everything during his 79 years, Bob fought until the very end. While we are heartbroken for our loss, we will try, day by day, to find comfort in knowing that Bob’s fight is over and he is now at peace. Our most difficult times will be in knowing how much he will be missed by his grandchildren, Ryan, Nick and Lily who, for sure, were the loves and lights of his life. We do not think a day went by when at least one of the kids did not mention “something” about their PopPop, and certainly everyone knows that PopPop never missed an opportunity to tell “someone” about them.
We invite you to visit this memorial page to share your comments, photos or memories of special times with Bob. Each of you has known him in unique and different ways, and we would love the opportunity to hear from you as we celebrate his life. We know that he held a space in his heart for each and every one of you, and your love and/or friendship was very special. We have a limited list of email addresses so please feel free to pass this along to anyone else who knew Bob and we may have unintentionally omitted.
A Mass of Remberance is planned for 11am on Friday, April 27 at Baker-Post Funeral Home in Manassas, VA (www.bakerpostfh.com). Following the service, our family invites you to join us at 6328 Anoka Way in Heritage Hunt for a reception between 1-3pm to commemorate and honor Bob.
In lieu of flowers or other expressions of sympathy, our family would be appreciative if you would consider making a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, P.O. Box 50, Memphis, TN 38101-9929.
We thank you for your kind words, thoughts and prayers. It means a lot to our family that you were a special person in Bob’s life and in ours.
Love and Blessings,
Kathy, Julie K. Becker and Joann K. Hardy
6328 Anoka Way
Gainesville VA 20155
571.284-6156 (H)
908.400-9754 (C)
In 1957 when I walked through the Phelps Hall archway onto the Old Campus for my freshman year, I was awed by the fact that I stood in the middle of one of the most architecturally distinctive campuses in the world. I suspected, irrespective of my fears, that I was in a “special place” and the next four years were going to be some of the most interesting and exciting years of my life. They were!
Fast-forward 48 years and suddenly I see Princeton publishing my career epitaph:
“In June of 2009, he retired from the Office of Design and Construction at Princeton University where he managed construction operations for University’s capital projects renaissance and expansion program. During the period 1997 to 2009, he completed 24 major projects that collected more than 17 awards for quality of design and/or construction. Among the projects completed under his direction were the Princeton University football stadium, the Shea Rowing Center used as the training facility for Princeton University and the United States Men and Women’s Olympic rowing teams, the Woodrow Wilson School’s Wallace Social Science Center and Bendheim Finance Center, and the Andlinger Humanities Center which is the home of the University’s Council for the Humanities featured in the Ron Howard film, “A Beautiful Mind.” He recently completed the Roberts Stadium project, which is the largest combination natural grass and field turf stadium in the Ivy League. Roberts Stadium was selected by the United States national team as the practice venue to prepare for the 2010 World Cup.
Mr. Kress had a 32-year professional career with Princeton University where he was the Manager of Facilities Project Engineering and Construction at the University’s Plasma Physics Laboratory, responsible for capital projects planning and facilities construction which were key elements for the Laboratory becoming an international leader in fusion energy research.
He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering from Yale, was elected a Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers in April 2009, and is a registered professional engineer. In addition to the latter, he has been an adjunct faculty member for several colleges where he taught construction management, and he was elected to local public office where he served for nine years and held the positions of Deputy Mayor and Mayor.”
Where did the time go? I don’t know! What I do know is that my appreciation of Yale has grown over the last 50 years. Yale provided me with the knowledge, confidence, and freedom to follow my dreams from the day I walked onto the campus in 1957.
I also know I have been extremely fortunate to have my wife Kathleen holding my hand for 49 years, patiently listening to my complaints. I thank my children Julie and Joann for believing I could do the impossible. I have discovered over the years since my retirement that my grandchildren, Ryan,Nicholas and Lily, are constantly boosting my ego thinking their “pop-pop” owns all of the buildings on the Princeton campus which is their “private” playground. Lastly, many thanks to Princeton University for making me realize that I have been the beneficiary of the best of two worlds; a Yale education and a Princeton job. The latter of which has left Princeton with the suspicion that their football house, built by a Yalie, may be haunted by “Robert’s curse”.