Rene Grebe

René Grebe, age 84, of Leander, TX passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family on Jan 5th, 2024. René was born May 30, 1939 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
René cherished his family. He is survived by his beloved wife of 33 years, Pilar; four children, Alex (Mark) Dunkel, Sonia (Glen) Margolis, Rolando (Kathy) Grebe, and Bernice (Charles) Avington; two stepchildren Will (Jennifer) Gonzalez and Dennis Gonzalez; sixteen grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren. In addition, he is survived by his sister (Mabel), his former spouse (Susana), and extended family in the US, Spain, and Argentina.
René truly embodied the spirt of the American dream. In 1970 at age 30, with Green Cards approved, René immigrated with his pregnant wife and young family to Los Angeles. He assimilated quickly yet maintained many of his passions from Argentina – his love of flying, preparing Argentine barbeques for family and friends, and enjoying a nice Malbec.
In coming to the US, he saw many opportunities. He quickly invested in real estate and began pursuing other dreams.
In 1978, he bought a Piper Cherokee 6 to achieve the ambitious goal of flying his still young family from Los Angeles to Argentina for their first return visit. Together with his first wife and their 4 kids, they flew 7 days, landing in a different country each night until crossing the Andes and landing as the sun was setting on their hometown.
In 1979, with proceeds from the sale of a multi-family building, he bought German Machined Products, a machined parts business, which he successfully grew and expanded. The company made parts for Boeing, Hughes Aircraft, Mc Donnell Douglass, and other aviation and defense industry suppliers. His company also made swords for Conan the Barbarian live action show at Universal Studios Hollywood. He held this company until his retirement in 2004.
Upon retirement, he and Pilar moved to Texas to be near her eldest son, Will. René had many passions in his life. He and Pilar traveled extensively all over the world. He was an avid tennis player for over 30 years. He never missed a tennis match on TV and traveled to see the 4 major Grand Slam tournaments.
He loved aviation history, owning for many years a used aviation bookstore. His favorite plane was the
P-51 Mustang, which he flew in as a gift from his children, and later remarked it was the happiest moment of his life. His other favorite hobby of 50+years, was building and flying remote-controlled airplanes. Over the course of his life, he participated in countless competitions, eventually moving on to competition judge in his retirement at his local RC flying club where he also served as their VP and organized competitions, fundraisers, and other activities.
He will be deeply missed by his family and friends. We imagine him up in heaven enjoying his evening Gin and Tonic, while sharing his gift for storytelling about life in Argentina in the 50's and 60's, bringing everyone to tears of laughter as he did so many times.
René supported many non-profits, and especially enjoyed driving for Meals on Wheels and volunteering as a poll worker. The family requests those who wish to express sympathy to consider donating to one of René's favorite charities (Meals on Wheels or Prager University).