Robert Lee Petri

Robert Lee Petri Robert Lee Petri, 81 of Waterford, beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather, Brother and friend, passed away at home on Sunday, February 17, 2008. Bob was born in Fairview on May 26, 1926, the son of the late Lee R. Petri and Lula M. Whitney Petri. He worked for 42 years for Penn Brass & Copper Company in Erie and their successor company, Penn Aluminum International in Murphysboro, Illinois. When the company closed its Erie facility in 1983, Bob was the only hourly employee asked to make the move to Murphysboro. He retired as a foreman in 1989. Bob was a World War II veteran of the United States Merchant Marine, serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific theatres of the conflict. He was a founding member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Waterford. He was a lifelong avid hunter and angler with an uncanny ability to find and catch crappie wherever he went. He was a lifetime member of the National Plott Hound Association, a self-educated expert on the lives of the great composers and the geography of the world, a gifted story teller, and a peerless master of the art of vegetable gardening. Above all, Bob was a man who brought joy, laughter, a compassionate heart and his easy way to every person he met. He was a man of great love for all and of strong and abiding faith in the Resurrection and the Life to Come. He was much beloved by all who knew him and will be greatly missed by his family and many friends. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Violet Johnson Petri, two sons: Robert Petri, Jr. and his wife Janice of Highland Park, Illinois and Daniel Petri and his wife Michelle of Erie, and by two daughters, Elaine Gibson and her husband Peter and Laurie Mook and her husband Darrell, all of Waterford. He is also survived by three brothers: Lee Petri and Charles Petri of Fairview and Paul Petri of Conneaut, Ohio and four sisters: Lois Lee of Meadville, Ruth Simeon of Hubbard, Ohio, Mabel Murray of Stuart, Florida and Evelyn Petri of Mooresville, North Carolina. He is also survived by five grandchildren: Kara Hoffman, Natalie Gibson, Joel Gibson, and Travis and Aaron Mook; and over 30 nieces and nephews. Those preceding him in death include a brother, Donald Petri and a sister, Louella Dunn. Friends may call at the Van Matre Funeral Home, 105 Walnut Street, Waterford on Tuesday from 7-9pm and on Wednesday from 2-4 and 7-9pm. Funeral services will be held at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Waterford on Thursday at 10:00am and will be officiated by Mr. James Judy, Minister Assistant. Burial will follow at Waterford Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Association or St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Waterford or Bethesda Children's Home in Meadville. Sign the guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits