DUANESBURG, N.Y. – George Douglas Roben, 91, died Feb. 21, 2012, at home with his family, from pulmonary disease. He was born June 19, 1920, in Houlton, to Dr. Walter Brock Roben and Annie Jean Smith Roben.
George earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering at the University of Maine, Orono, where he belonged to Kappa Sigma fraternity and played clarinet in the university swing band and a private band. Serving from 1944 to 1946 in the Army Corps of Engineers, he worked on the Manhattan Project at Columbia University, the University of Chicago and Oak Ridge, Tenn. In Oak Ridge, Tenn., he met and married Velma Helen Tindell in 1946 and moved to nearby Knoxville, Tenn. At the University of Tennessee he earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering and completed coursework for a doctorate. Due to medical bills after his second child’s hospitalization, he left school to work for General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y. Living for one year in Rotterdam, N.Y., seven years in Colonie, N.Y., and the rest of his life in Niskayuna, N.Y., he belonged to St. George’s Church and served on the vestry. As an employee at GE Materials and Processes Laboratory, George earned three patents. He enjoyed volunteering, bowling, golfing, camping, swimming and playing bridge. George was predeceased by his wife of 61 years, Helen, in 2007. For a few years they enjoyed escaping winter and making new friends in the neighborhood and church of their Florida vacation home. Likewise, they looked forward to returning to friends and family up north. Their family was the most important part of their lives.
George is survived by two sisters, Muriel McEachern of Greenville and Barbara Ledger and husband, Floyd, of Bangor; five children, Margaret Watrous and husband, Peter, of Duanesburg, N.Y., Dr. G. Brock Roben and wife, Dr. Andrea Belasco, of Swarthmore, Pa., Matthew A. Roben of Niskayuna, N.Y., Terri Roben and husband, Peter Looker, of Ballston Lake, N.Y., and Elizabeth Roben and husband, Normand Chabot, of Ambler, Pa.; daughter-in-law, Hope Roben of Niskayuna, N.Y.; eight grandchildren, Benjamin Watrous and wife, Nikki, of Greenwich, Conn., David Watrous of Schenectady, N.Y., Zoe Roben of Brooklyn, N.Y., Adam Roben and wife, Caroline, of Chapel Hill, N.C., Scott Roben of Swarthmore, Pa., Eva Roben of Swarthmore, Pa., Caitlin Roben of Crown Heights, N.Y., and Miles Roben of Niskayuna, N.Y.; many nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated 12:30 p.m. March 3 at St. George’s Church, 30 North Ferry St., Schenectady, N.Y. A reception with refreshments will be after the service in St. George’s Great Hall. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Organ Restoration Fund, St. George’s Church, 30 North Ferry St., Schenectady, NY 12305-1697 or Community Hospice of Schenectady, 1411 Union St., Schenectady NY
12308. Online condolences may be expressed at
www.dalyfuneralhome.com.