Robert William Traver, Sr.

East Greenbush - Robert William Traver Sr., 92, died Saturday, October 29, 2022, at his home from natural causes.

Born in Watertown, CT, he was a son of the late Alfred Matthew Traver and Dorothy Thompson Peterson and husband of the late Valerie J. Mason Traver. He recently moved to East Greenbush but previously resided in Averill Park, NY, for fifty years.   

Bob earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree from Clarkson University and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Bob’s engineer career included positions with General Electric’s ordnance division, then management and quality control consulting with Rath and Strong, later Reddy, Berger, Rosen, Woods, and finally Woods and Traver.  His 1985 paper, “Pre-Control: A Good Alternative to X-R Charts,” in Quality Progress, a publication of the American Society for Quality Control, won an award for best article of the year.  His book, Industrial Problem Solving: Isolating the Key Variables (Hitchcock, 1989) remains in use.

The outdoors was Bob’s favorite pastime, and he particularly enjoyed hunting, fishing, skiing, and ice hockey. He was a member of Trout Unlimited and participated in several stream improvement projects.  When not engaged in these pursuits, he excelled in all kinds of games that required precision hand-eye coordination such as darts, horseshoes, bocci, and ping-pong.  

He served with the US Army Reserves in Germany in the early fifties where he was assigned to a mechanized infantry unit. 

Survivors include his children: Robert W. (Lesley) Traver, Jr, Jeffrey M. Traver, and Elizabeth J. Traver; and his stepchildren:  Steven B. (Charlotte) Harris, Robert O. (Fernanda) Harris, and Maj. Kenneth (Silvia) Harris; two brothers, Thomas and Jack Traver; and five grandchildren.

Funeral service will be private at the convenience of the family.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of Robert William Traver Sr. to local chapters of Trout Unlimited. 

Arrangements by DeGraaf-Bryce Funeral Home, Inc West Sand Lake  519 674 5790

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