Flais, L. Robert "Bob"
L. Robert "Bob" Flais was born in Oakmont, PA in 1931 to Louis and Rose Flais. He graduated from Oakmont High School in 1949, and earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He earned an M.B.A. from Akron University in 1974. After college, Bob served as a Naval officer on the U.S.S. Canberra. While in the Navy he met his beloved wife, Joan, when she was teaching at the U.S. military base in Naples, Italy. Following his military service, Bob worked in chemical engineering at Alcoa Research Laboratory, General Electric, and Babcock & Wilcox. While at G.E., he worked on a team that built the hydrogen fuel cell electric power supply for the Gemini and Apollo NASA space missions. He is named on 3 U.S. patents. Bob and Joan were married for 52 years, and felt blessed with a large family, which Bob said was, "the most wonderful gift we have." Spending time with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren was very important to him. He was very strong in his religious faith, and served in a variety of lay ministries. He was proud of his Slovenian heritage, and often spoke of how his parents came to our wonderful country in the 1920s, worked extremely hard and sacrificed for their family. He is survived by his eight children, Robert Flais, Anne (Brian) Gerber, John (Becky) Flais, Margaret (Ward) Ivan, Michael Flais, Joan (Chris) Wire, Martin (Jami) Flais, and Paul (Kristine) Flais, twenty-one grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his wife, Joan, his parents, Louis and Rose, his sister Dorothy, and a granddaughter, Madeline. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 am on Friday, November 3, 2023 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Alliance. The family will receive friends from 9:15 am until the time of mass. Internment will follow at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Alliance. Memorial contributions may be made to Renewal Ministries, PO Box 491, Ann Arbor, MI 48106.
Flais, L. Robert
