Robert F. Mccabe

Robert F. McCabe Sr., the patriarch of a family that grew to nine children, 37 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren, passed away on Dec. 29, 2024, at Keystone Villa, Blandon, Pa., at the age of 93.

Born on June 13, 1931, in Brooklyn, N.Y., his life was a testament to the power of his Catholic faith, love for and devotion to family and unrelenting resilience in the face of challenge and adversity.

He graduated from Fordham University in 1952 and served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, eventually becoming a chief contracting officer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

In 1977, he attended the marketing-management program at Harvard Business School.

After serving in an array of technical sales and senior marketing positions for 30 years with Uniroyal, Boise Cascade and James River Corp., in such places as Detroit, Connecticut, Chicago and Beaver Falls, N.Y., he founded Technimark Associates Inc., his own manufacturer's rep agency, in Easton, Pa., in 1985.

That gamble paid off, enabling the purchase of a large home in Blairstown, N.J., the scene of too many family vacations to count over more than 15 years.

As the youngest of four in a Depression-era family, he moved frequently, attending several elementary schools and four high schools in the 1930s and '40s.

The most important move of his life, perhaps, was in February 1941, when his family moved to the Cincinnati area where he was enrolled as a fifth-grader at St. Matthew's School in Norwood, Ohio, and met Maureen A. Peters, a fourth-grader, who 11 years later became his wife.

They were married at St. Matthew's Church on Nov. 22, 1952 -- Maureen's 21st birthday -- and over the next 18 years grew a large, tight-knit family.

Along with his wife, he is survived by his children Bob Jr., Mary, Patricia, Jim, Maureen, Jack, Margaret, Kate and their spouses. An infant son, Francis Xavier, predeceased him in 1963.

He was the son of Valentine R. McCabe, a Cooper Union-trained engineer, and Mary G. McCabe, and brother of Mary E. Reinert, Margaret T. Schwartz and William J. McCabe, all of whom passed away years ago.

An active member of virtually every parish he attended over decades, he served as a lector and eucharistic minister, as well as being a member of the Knights of Columbus.

A lover of sports and games, he taught his children and others, too, how to play golf, tennis, chess, bridge and charades, in addition to baseball and football, among others.

A proud Fordham Ram, with a Bronx-bred toughness that could make him a formidable adversary in a debate, he also had a huge heart, enabling him, at times, to speak healing words of grace and comfort that could touch one's core.

He loved all things Irish, the New York Yankees and Giants, Notre Dame football, a good martini and, occasionally, a cigar.

A funeral Mass is planned at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, at St. Ignatius Loyola Church, 2810 St. Albans Drive, Sinking Spring, PA 19608.

Donations in his memory may be made to the church at the address above.

Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home Inc, West Reading is in charge of arrangements. Condolences may be expressed at kuhnfuneralhomes.com.