Robert E. Kalbacher, who was well known for quality automotive repairs and services on the East End, died Saturday, July 19, at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. According to his sons, Robert and Richard, the cause of death was congestive heart failure; he had been in ill health for a few years.
Mr. Kalbacher, known in the community as “Bob,” leaves behind the business he started in 1964 and expanded in 1981, Kalbacher’s Auto in Springs, now run by his son, Robert. Survivors said he also leaves a rich, personal legacy of community service as a founding member and past commander of the East Hampton Power Squadron; as a devoted husband and father; and as an avid sailor with a hearty zest for life. That life he shared with his wife of nearly 60 years, Frances, better known as “Billie.” In recent years, the two of them were frequently spotted on the waters of the East End entertaining friends and family aboard their boat, “Bobil” (a combination of Bob and Billie).
Appropriately, in the days after Mr. Kalbacher’s death, a large wreath of carnations in the shape of a life ring buoy was placed on the aft deck of the Bobil, and seen by the hundreds of drivers who passed the bright white boat with its prominent American flag, docked in Three Mile Harbor Basin.
Born in Ozone Park, Queens, on April 20, 1932, Mr. Kalbacher attended New York City’s Woodrow Wilson High School and later studied mechanical engineering at Columbia University. He met Frances Emma Hudson, and they were married October 26, 1957. Together, they were a prominent couple in numerous local service organizations, and they were founding members of St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Amagansett, the church where his memorial service was held on July 24.
“My parents moved to East Hampton in 1962, after they finished building their home on Gardiner Avenue in Springs,” said Richard Kalbacher at his father’s memorial service. “My mom wanted to raise Rob and me in East Hampton. My dad’s job was in New Jersey. He worked for Volvo and later for British Leyland/Jaguar Rover Triumph for a total of 24 years. He was the service supervisor for dealer development and traveled continuously throughout the U.S. to all the dealerships. He commuted to New Jersey on Mondays and came home to East Hampton every Friday. So needless to say, our weekends were all about family and doing things together.”
The business that Mr. Kalbacher started on Fort Pond Boulevard in Springs is today a busy destination for automotive enthusiasts and car owners, not only on the East End, but as far away as Florida.
In an article in The East Hampton Star in October 2008, Mr. Kalbacher stated, “I have been doing this for 65 years. When the business opened, we decided we didn’t want to be on the main highway, that’s why we are deep in the woods (in Springs). I don’t want people walking into my shop saying, ‘I want my car fixed now.’ You can’t do that in a doctor’s office, so please, make an appointment.”
While automotive repair, care and later an auto storage business kept Mr. Kalbacher busy for nearly three decades, he always had time to work with his fellow members of the Power Squadron. He received nearly every award and honor given by the squadron to its members, including the Edward Corner Award as most valuable member in 1993.
While Mr. Kalbacher’s record in the Power Squadron is well known in the boating and nautical community of the East End, he had also served in the United States Air Force from 1956 to 1960. Attaining the rank of staff sergeant, he was a senior automotive mechanic in charge of inspection of vehicles before and after repair.
Among the files of documents and newspaper clippings, “one document stood out and succinctly summarized this stalwart standout citizen of East Hampton,” survivors said. It was Mr. Kalbacher’s personal résumé, written when he was 32 years of age. In it, he summarized his personal qualifications as: “conscientious, aggressive, dependable, tactful and thorough. In excellent health, personable ...”
Among his colleagues, friends and family, it would be hard to find a dissenting voice to that description.
Mr. Kalbacher is survived by his wife, Billie, who resides at San Simeon by the Sound in Greenport; two sons, Robert and Richard, both of East Hampton; four grandchildren, Dakota, Jade, Matthew and Christopher; two sisters, Joanne Shaughnessy of West Palm Beach and Paula Easevoli of Amagansett and Key Largo; and two brothers, Steven of Amagansett and William of East Hampton. He was predeceased by a brother, John, in August 2004.
Donations may be made to Good Shepard Lutheran Church, 6301 Southwest 18th Street, Boca Raton, FL 33433, in care of the Reverend Robert Endruschat.
on Oct 6, 2014