Obituary for Robert F. Hertz
Robert Frank Hertz, age 83 of Kings Park, NY, passed away Monday, March 2, 2020. Born May 23, 1936 in Lyndora, PA, the son of Frank Hertz and Josephine Rothen Hertz.
He was a member of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Kings Park NY and was a former member of St. Peter Roman Catholic Church in Butler PA.
He grew up on the family farm in Lyndora, was Junior Achievement president in high school, worked as a stock clerk for Sparkle Supermarket and at ARMCO Steel Corporation in Butler, and earned a scholarship to Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh.
He married Joan L. Schehl of Butler PA on June 22, 1957. After graduating from Carnegie Institute with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, he and Joan moved to Mineola NY, where he continued graduate studies at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and began a 36 year career at Airborne Instruments Laboratory (AIL) on Long Island.
He initially worked at AIL’s Garden City facility during the development and production of the AN/GLA-8 Radar Signal Processing System.
Moving to AIL’s Deer Park facility he participated in the design of the ALQ-99 countermeasures system for EA-6B aircraft, the AN/ALT-35 airborne VHF jammer, and an airborne adaptive array for the Global Positioning System.
At AIL’s Melville facility he became a Group Leader in the Communications Systems Department with design responsibilities for the Navy’s Compact VLF receiver, and RF portions of FLTSATCOM simulation and TDRS. His designs for RF signal cancellation techniques and transmitter/receiver isolation resulted in a patent.
He then moved to AIL’s Farmingdale facility and became Section Head in the Program Development Department of the Tactical Electronic Warfare Division and managed engineering flight tests for an upgraded AN/ALQ-99 ECM pod for the EA-6B. He then became Section Head of the B-1B AN/ALQ-161 Program Division.
After retiring in July of 1994, he enjoyed spending more time with his family, volunteering, and his hobbies.
He was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Association of Old Crows, and the German Genealogy Group.
He volunteered with Cub Scouts as an assistant scout master and Weblo leader, St. Joseph Church Bingo in Kings Park, Edgewood Flyers in Deer Park, and Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown.
His hobbies included woodworking, leather crafting, antique restoration, automobile repair, coin collecting, stock market investing, gardening, and genealogy.
He is survived by his brothers Richard Hertz and Kenneth Hertz; son John Hertz; grand children Jordan Hertz, Arianna Hertz, Dennine Harrison, and Ryan Sperry; seven great grandchildren; two great great grandchildren; along with many nieces and nephews. Preceding him in death were his parents Frank and Josephine; his wife Joan; and son Lawrence.
He was a member of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Kings Park NY and was a former member of St. Peter Roman Catholic Church in Butler PA.
He grew up on the family farm in Lyndora, was Junior Achievement president in high school, worked as a stock clerk for Sparkle Supermarket and at ARMCO Steel Corporation in Butler, and earned a scholarship to Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh.
He married Joan L. Schehl of Butler PA on June 22, 1957. After graduating from Carnegie Institute with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, he and Joan moved to Mineola NY, where he continued graduate studies at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and began a 36 year career at Airborne Instruments Laboratory (AIL) on Long Island.
He initially worked at AIL’s Garden City facility during the development and production of the AN/GLA-8 Radar Signal Processing System.
Moving to AIL’s Deer Park facility he participated in the design of the ALQ-99 countermeasures system for EA-6B aircraft, the AN/ALT-35 airborne VHF jammer, and an airborne adaptive array for the Global Positioning System.
At AIL’s Melville facility he became a Group Leader in the Communications Systems Department with design responsibilities for the Navy’s Compact VLF receiver, and RF portions of FLTSATCOM simulation and TDRS. His designs for RF signal cancellation techniques and transmitter/receiver isolation resulted in a patent.
He then moved to AIL’s Farmingdale facility and became Section Head in the Program Development Department of the Tactical Electronic Warfare Division and managed engineering flight tests for an upgraded AN/ALQ-99 ECM pod for the EA-6B. He then became Section Head of the B-1B AN/ALQ-161 Program Division.
After retiring in July of 1994, he enjoyed spending more time with his family, volunteering, and his hobbies.
He was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Association of Old Crows, and the German Genealogy Group.
He volunteered with Cub Scouts as an assistant scout master and Weblo leader, St. Joseph Church Bingo in Kings Park, Edgewood Flyers in Deer Park, and Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown.
His hobbies included woodworking, leather crafting, antique restoration, automobile repair, coin collecting, stock market investing, gardening, and genealogy.
He is survived by his brothers Richard Hertz and Kenneth Hertz; son John Hertz; grand children Jordan Hertz, Arianna Hertz, Dennine Harrison, and Ryan Sperry; seven great grandchildren; two great great grandchildren; along with many nieces and nephews. Preceding him in death were his parents Frank and Josephine; his wife Joan; and son Lawrence.