Obituary of Robert Eugene Mortensen

Robert E. Mortensen (Bob), age 90, took his last flight up to the angels Thursday, July 18, 2013 following a long and amazing life lived well. Bob was born in Watseka, IL on November 17, 1922 the only child of Mabel C (Webster) and Urain (Bud) Mortensen. He lived an interesting life growing up in Illinois working on the family farm, working in town selling shoes, working in a pharmacy, and as a soda jerk. He joined the Navy in 1951 leaving Eureka College to become a Navy Carrier Pilot. He participated in WW II and Korea and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign. He received the Korean Presidential Unit Citation Badge. He participated in National Defense Service and the United Nations Service. Following his Honorable discharge from the Navy he and his wife owned and operated The Seaward Bound Motel in West Yarmouth, MA for ten plus years. He also designed and built homes, worked as a Real Estate Agent, and worked for the Navy at Race Point Provincetown, MA as a computer programmer. He worked in New London, CT for the navy as a civilian and then went to work at the Natick Army Labs in the division that developed and tested the field kitchens and foods for our troops that are stationed around the world. He participated in the summer War Games in Twenty-nine Palms, CA and the winter War Games in Tromso, Norway testing the foods/kitchens that he helped design and build. Retiring to Lake Placid in1988 he still did not rest and worked as a custodian for the Saranac Lake School System and at Aubachon in Lake Placid. He is survived by his children and their spouses; (daughter) Robin and Mike Miller , (son) Donald and Paige Mortensen all of Lake Placid. Grandchildren: Krissa Miller, Salt Lake City, UT; Donald R. Mortensen, Boulder, CO; Karli Miller, Lake Placid, NY; and Dale Mortensen, Saranac Lake, NY. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and a great-great niece all from the New England Area. Bob was pre-deceased by his parents, loving wife Ruth and sons Robert, Jr. and Lawrence (Sandy). Bob loved spending time with family and friends. He enjoyed going to the family summer camp in Maine and enjoying Lobster and clams. Highlights for him in the last ten years of his life included cocktails with his son every evening, living at the Greenwood, socializing with his friends and His 90th surprise birthday party! A celebration of Bob's life will take place at the Greenwood Community Room, 89 Greenwood Street, on Tuesday July 23rd beginning at 4:30 pm. Please come and share your favorite memories with all of us. With great appreciation we would like to thank the medical community including the following: Dr. Tony Waickman, Dr. Richard Handler, and Dr. Irwin Lieb, Dr. Steven Emmons, Dr. Adam Abodeely, Dr. Mandeep Saluja, Dr. Kathleen O'Connell, Patty Allott, Alicia Bates, the staff at Oncology AMC Saranac Lake, The wonderful 3rd floor nurses AMC Saranac Lake, the ER staff at Lake Placid AMC and Saranac Lake AMC, The nurses and staff in the OR and the Endoscopy Unit, The Rehab nurses and staff at Uihlein, the Lake Placid and Saranac Lake Rescue Squads, and last but not least, the special people that work for Hospice. We would also like to offer our sincere gratitude to his wonderful friends at The Greenwood for whom we truly believe helped him live to his 90 years. A very special thank you to Mary, Bud, and Joan! You all, in many different ways, have helped keep my dad around for us all to enjoy many years of wonderful stories and lessons that only someone of my dad's caliber could impart to us all. The M. B. Clark, Inc. Funeral Home in Lake Placid, NY is in charge of arrangements. Relatives and friends are invited to "light a candle" and share a memory, thought and prayer and read the full obituary at www.mbclarkfuneralhome.com .