Robert Taylor Kreiling

Robert Taylor Kreiling

PORT ST LUCIE, FL

Robert T. Kreiling, former president of Suffolk County Community College in Selden, New York, died at the Treasure Coast Hospice House in Port St. Lucie on August 12 after a long illness; he was 85. Formerly of Westhampton Beach, New York, Mr. Kreiling had lived in Port St. Lucie since 1993.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Mr. Kreiling grew up in Westhampton Beach, NY. He earned a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Albany and a master's degree from Columbia University, and spent most of his professional life in New York State public higher education. Mr. Kreiling held faculty and administrative positions at Orange County Community College, Dutchess County Community College (which he helped found in 1957), and Suffolk County Community College, where he served as president from 1983 through 1991.

Mr. Kreiling married the former Mary Lucas in 1951, and they raised their four children in Westhampton Beach, where Mr. Kreiling held positions on the Village Board of Trustees and the Board of Education for many years. In retirement, he took a leading role in his neighborhood owners' association in Port St. Lucie. An avid golfer, he was a long-time member of the Westhampton Country Club, and later joined the Legacy Golf Club in Port St. Lucie.

Mr. Kreiling is survived by his wife, along with daughters Jean Kreiling of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and Nancy Kreiling Kingston of Nyack, New York; son William Kreiling of Spotsylvania, Virginia, and his wife Ivy; and five grandchildren. He was predeceased by his daughter Susan Lawless and her husband Jack.

Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Treasure Coast Hospice, 1201 SE Indian St., Stuart, FL 34997.