AMSTUTZ, Robert Freeman
Robert Freeman Amstutz, passed away August 5, 2012 at a long term care facility in Barre, VT, where he had lived since May. He was 85 years old. He had lived in West Hartford for 40 years. Robert was born on Aug. 25, 1926, and grew up on the family farm in Bluffton, OH, with his parents, Edwin and Zilla Amstutz. Robert received a B.A. from Bluffton University and later an M.A. from Hartford Theological Seminary. He was a high school teacher in Simsbury, CT for 35 years, where he became the head of the social science department. He was on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Education Association, and he was an active delegate in the National Education Association. He was an active and engaged member in the First Church of Christ Congregational in West Hartford, CT for many decades. He had a deep love of classical music, and instilled a love of music in his sons. Throughout his life, he sang in many church and community choirs, and he received much joy from these experiences. He enjoyed traveling extensively in North America and Europe, and cultivated a love of travel in his sons. He was a student of history and culture, and took pleasure in visiting many of the world's famous and important places. He had a life time fascination with antique tractors. In retirement, he volunteered for the newly organized Connecticut Antique Machinery Museum. He had two sons, Stephen and Frederic, with his first wife, Myrtle Wasser. Four years after marrying Lynn Aune, she passed away with cancer. Catherine Derrick became his third wife, and she survives his passing. He is survived by one son, Stephen, of Upper Jay, NY; his granddaughter, Annika, of Northampton, MA; and his sister, Harriet Dick, of Toronto.
Donations can be made in his honor to The Mennonite Central Committee, an international relief, service, and peace organization.
