Obituary of Robert C Kalm

Robert C. Kalm, 86, loving husband, father, grandfather, uncle, cousin, and friend, died peacefully Wednesday, May 6, 2020, at his home in Shelton. Bob was Bridgeport City Engineer from 1972 to 1990, serving under six Park City mayors over 18 years. Born in Bridgeport on April 7, 1934, Bob was the son of the late Walter William Kalm and Lillian Hampshire Brogan and a grandson of Swedish and Scotch-Irish immigrants. Lillian died when Bob was 7 years old. Walter, a housepainter, raised Bob and his two older sisters, the late Muriel Lois Lockberg and Elaine Joyce Graham, with the help of his mother Marie Olson Kalm. Bob lived on Denver Avenue in the West End, Old Town Road on Whiskey Hill, and graduated from Central High School in 1952. Bob attended The University of Connecticut's School of Engineering on scholarship and graduated in 1957. He was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. He received his Master of Engineering from Yale University in 1963, taught engineering at Northeastern University, and took his first job at Sikorsky Aircraft. Bob married Patricia Ann Hurd, also of Bridgeport, on September 14, 1963. They built their first two houses soon after— a cabin on Ossipee Lake in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and a home in Chelmsford, MA. Bob moved north to work for Avco Space Systems as a lead engineer in the Apollo Project Office, where he designed and tested the command module heat shield that allowed the first American astronauts to return safely to Earth. When the space program ended, Bob built his third home in Shelton where he raised his family for the next 47 years. Bob loved dining out, Pat's open-house parties, racing up to the lake every summer weekend, and surprising his kids with trips to Walt Disney World. He relished lobster, corn-on-the-cob, Sugar Daddy candies, and Dewar's dry Rob Roys straight up with a twist. He traveled Europe with Pat and spent many weekends working on his homes in the yard, workshop, and woodshop. He could draft the math for any project with a quick downward slash of a pencil in his left hand. He ran every day and could tread water on his treasured Cassie Cove endlessly. Bob always had a wink in his eye and a joke in his back pocket. Bob was a lifelong fan of the Red Sox, made numerous trips to Fenway Park, and carried Ted Williams' statistics in his wallet. He also followed the UConn Huskies and the New England Patriots and saw all three teams win in 2004. Bob played Pinochle every Friday night for over 50 years with the late Edward J. Collins, John "Jack" Koons, Stephen J. Grasso, and Domenick Iassogna, all of Bridgeport. Bob was also Deputy Public Works Commissioner for Greenwich from 1990 to 2006, Interim Public Works Director for North Haven from 2008 to 2009, a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and a Bridgeport Lion. Bob is survived by his loving wife of 56 years Pat, his devoted children Kristen Maynard and her husband Darrell of Fairfield, and Robert Donald and his partner Lisa Change Nichols of Vermont, his four grandchildren, Sarah Morgan, Joshua, Sarah Marie, and Kaitlyn, nieces and nephews, Gary, Diane Egan, Deborah Fontaine, Richard, Robert, Lawrence, Thomas, Lauren, and their families, and first cousins Doris Kruzshak and Maureen O'Hagan. Bob is predeceased by his sisters, his brothers-in-law Eric and John, his nephew John, and niece Sandrah Kasmin. Bob's family will hold a memorial celebration when pandemic restrictions ease. In place of flowers, please consider a gift in Bob's name to the Alzheimer's Lab at UConn Health. The Kalms thank Constellation Hospice, Yale Geriatrics Center, Humanity Home Care, and dedicated aid Kristi Allen for their support these last few years. Please share your memories of Bob at www.LeskoPolkeFuneralHome.com