Robert L. Wahlborg

1910 - 2016

Robert L. Wahlborg

Robert was born on a houseboat, in Seattle, to John and Carrie Wahlborg on August 26, 1910. The first of four children, he grew up along the shores of Lake Union, next to square-rigged sailing ships and the Boeing & Westervelt seaplane hangar. He could watch the open cockpit biplanes taxi out onto the lake, not realizing that one day he would work for the man who sometimes piloted them.

Robert, and his brothers John and Karl, led typical lives for young boys in Seattle in the early 1900's. He walked to school, delivered newspapers, rode the streetcar downtown, joined the Boy Scouts, and tried not to let his sister, Ruth, get the better of him in the games they all played. His mother was from a small village in Norway, and liked to keep goats in the front yard to supply fresh milk. Robert's father was a merchant seaman, who would sometimes be away at sea for months at a time.

Each summer, the family packed supplies and boarded a mosquito fleet ferry at Colman dock in Seattle. They were going out to "the country," as they called it, 10 acres of land in northwest Pierce County. They steamed down Puget Sound to Titlow Beach, south of Tacoma, and waited. A smaller boat took them across Carr Inlet to Home, a rural community on the shores of Von Geldern Cove. A short trip by horse drawn wagon to the house Robert's father built, and then it was time to kick off his shoes, and go barefoot through the tall, dry grass. Swimming, fishing, rowing the little rowboat, the best summers, ever.

In the fall, the family would return to Seattle, and it was time for school: Seward Elementary, then Broadway High School. Robert graduated at 17, a straight A student, and entered the University of Washington to study engineering. He was a member of the Wesley Club, the Compass and Chart naval fraternity, and the Theta chapter of Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity. He graduated from the UW in 1932 as an Ensign in the US Naval Reserve, with a degree in Civil Engineering.

His first job after graduation was aboard the Motor Vessel Westdahl in the Aleutian Islands, working for the US Coast and Geodetic Survey. Their mission was to map the shorelines and take offshore soundings. While on Kodiak island, he met and fell in love with Anne Anderson. They were married that summer by a Justice of the Peace.

They arrived in Seattle and, in 1935, Robert began working for the Boeing Company. As a young engineer, one of his first projects was a design for a hoist to lift the 1,500 horsepower radial engines used on the Model 314 Clipper flying boat. In July of that year, the Model 299 made its first test flight, and the Air Force gave it the military designation of B-17. Robert worked on the stress analysis for upgrading and improving this bomber, which a Seattle Times reporter dubbed the "Flying Fortress" because of its multiple gun mounts.

Then in 1937, an unusual opportunity presented itself. Robert and a fellow engineer, Dick Stith, were sent by Boeing to Los Angeles. They were to assist in the modification of a twin engine, Lockheed Model 14 N-2 Super Electra owned by Howard Hughes. At the Grand Central Air Terminal in Burbank, Hughes was refitting the plane to break a round-the-world speed record set by the late Wiley Post four years earlier. The 6-foot 4-inch Hughes wanted the pilot's seat modified to accommodate his large frame and make it more comfortable during days of constant flying.

While on loan to Hughes in Burbank, Robert and Anne stayed in an apartment in Hollywood, and spent time enjoying the sun, beaches, and deserts of Southern California. They attended the Rose Parade in Pasadena, spotted a few movie stars in Los Angeles, and generally had a great time. After a year, they returned to Seattle.

During World War II, Robert continued to support B-17 production in the Stress Unit. After the war, he worked mainly on Boeing Commercial airplanes, from the Model 307 Stratoliner to the 767. He also worked on the Dynamic Soaring Vehicle, aka X-20 Dyna-Soar, and the Supersonic Transport SST 2707. On the military side, he worked as vendor liaison with Keystone Engineering, doing stress analysis for the support ring bearings of the 30 foot diameter AWACS rotodome. He retired from Boeing in 1975, but continued working as a contractor for Bell Helicopter and Boeing for another ten years. During his career, Robert worked as Lead Engineer, Supervisor, and Chief Engineer. He held a Professional Engineer license in Aeronautical Engineering and was a member of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences.

Robert and Anne loved the outdoor life this area offers, and retirement brought more time to enjoy it. Skiing in the mountains, fishing for sea-run cutthroat trout in the rivers, digging for razor clams on the beaches. They belonged to the Mountaineers, and Robert learned how to tie flies as a member of the Washington Fly Fishing Club.

Robert passed away, peacefully, on May 23, 2016, at the age of 105 years and 9 months. His life stretched from the age of wooden ships and canvas to the digital age. He was preceded in death by his wife Anne, his brothers Karl and John, and his sister Ruth. He is survived by his sons Robert and John, granddaughter Heather Galvin, great-granddaughter Kaylee, and many nieces and nephews.

Per his request, no services will be held.