Max Robert Waldburger, Jr., (Bob to family, friends, and co-workers) age 86, died Oct. 31, 2010, at Careage of Whidbey in Coupeville after a long illness.

Bob was born March 6, 1924, to Max and Edna Waldburger in Olympia. He spent his youth on a small farm, worked in logging as a teenager, and attended school and played baseball in Shelton. Playing sports meant that he rode his bike nearly five miles home from school and then milked cows and did chores in the dark.

It was at a Grange dance near his home that Bob met Reva Jones, a city girl, who later became his wife. He was 14 and she was 12 at the time, and she was his only love from that time until Reva’s death in June of 2006, and his own. They were married 61 years.

One week after the Pearl Harbor attack, at age 17, Bob left school to join the Navy. He always claimed that he did this because it was the quickest way he could find to leave farm work behind!

Bob spent 22 months as a flight engineer, mechanic and gunner on PB 4Y-2 bombers flying out of Guadalcanal during World War II, arriving on the island while the runways were under construction and the island was still under daily attack. He learned to hate what he called “Billy Goat” (lamb), a diet staple for the duration of his time on the island.

Shortly after his return to the states, Bob and Reva were married, in October of 1945. During his Navy career they were stationed in Astoria, Ore.; Pensacola, Fla.; Kodiak, Alaska; Sunnyvale, Calif.; and Guam; as well as serving several tours at Whidbey Island, where they bought a new home in 1955.

In 1961 Bob retired from the Navy and soon went to work for Parkhurst and Lange Construction where he made many good friends, and enjoyed working for the next ten years. In 1972, shortly after moving to the home on Scenic Heights that Bob and Reva had barged from the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle, and completely remodeled, he went to work for the Civil Service as a construction inspector at NAS Whidbey. In time, Bob was promoted to the position of planner/estimator. He retired after 16 years with the Civil Service program.

In his younger days, Bob loved hunting and fishing. Later, he found great joy in his wood and metal work, in clam digging and crabbing, in traveling and camping with Reva in the two motor homes they owned, and most especially, in sharing time, teasing, and laughter with his grandchildren.

Bob was preceded in death by his wife Reva, and by his brother, Bill. He is survived by his brother, Jim, of Shelton, his son, Michael Waldburger (Nancy) of Yakima, and his daughters Patricia Roberts (Bill) of Coupeville and Jane Robin Bennett (Rich) of Mount Vernon. He also leaves six treasured grandchildren and ten precious great grandchildren.

Bob was one of those very rare people who was respected and liked by all who knew him. He loved a good laugh, took his family and his work seriously, and himself much less so. He was a wonderful example to his family. He will be remembered with affection and truly missed.

Private family burial services will take place on Saturday, Nov. 6, at Maple Leaf Cemetery in Oak Harbor, with a memorial service to follow for all family and friends at 2 p.m. at Burley Funeral Chapel, 30 SE Ely Street, in Oak Harbor. Family and friends may go online at www.burleyfuneralchapel.com to sign a guest register and leave memories for the family.