Obituary of William Robert Brittenham

William Robert "Bob" Brittenham Bob Brittenham, 82, of Poughkeepsie, entered into eternal life on Monday, March 17, 2008, with his wife and all of his children at his side, at the Cardiac Care Unit of New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Born May 29, 1925 in Rock Island, Illinois, he was the son of Rollins Rex Brittenham and Sarah Faye Dresser. On August 5, 1950 he married, first, Lois Gene Varner, in Rock Island, Illinois. She predeceased him on December 15, 1958. On June 11, 1960 he married Marjorie Lorraine Schrader in Polar, Wisconsin. She survives at home. In 1950 he graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. He received a Master of Science Degree in Mathematics in 1952 from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. He was a computer programmer with A.O. Smith Corporation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The family moved to Poughkeepsie in 1963, where Bob began work at IBM Corporation. Bob retired from IBM Corporation as a Senior Programmer in 1987. While working for IBM he received a number of awards, including a corporate award for creating and designing the system programming language PL/S. Bob began playing organ at the age of 14. He was Assistant Organist at Capitol Drive Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1958 to 1963. He was then an Assistant Organist at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Fishkill, New York from 1964 to 1975. From 1975 to 1994 he was the Organist at First Presbyterian Church in Poughkeepsie, New York. He recorded many hours of his organ playing and had recently finished compiling a 10 CD "Musical History of First Presbyterian Church". He had also produced CDs from his recordings, entitled Organ Improvisations at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Organ Compositions and Improvisations from First Presbyterian Church and Christmas Music 1988-1990 with the choir of First Presbyterian Church. He served in the 33rd Seabee Battalion in the South Pacific in World War II. While serving on the island of Peleliu, he played the organ for church services. He was an avid geneologist. After their retirement, Bob and Marge traveled in the Eastern and Midwestern United States researching their family histories. He wrote and published two books, Descendants of Johann Nicolaus Emich and The Garter Family of New York and Michigan. He is survived by his wife, Marjorie, his five children and nine grandchildren: David and Carolyn Brittenham, and daughter Katy of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York; Peter and Abby Brittenham, and children Joshua, Gregory and Jessica of Pittsboro, North Carolina; Mark Brittenham and Susan Hermiller of Lincoln, Nebraska; Paul and Anne Brittenham, and children Sarah, Chloe and Leda, of Skaneateles, New York; and Julie and David Tuttle, and children Matthew and Deanna, of Poughkeepsie, New York. He is also survived by his brother, Rex Rollins Brittenham, of Mt. Clemens, Michigan, and seven nieces and nephews. Calling hours will be from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday, March 21, 2008 at Straub, Catalano & Halvey Funeral Home, 55 East Main Street, Wappingers Falls, New York. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 55 Wilbur Boulevard, Poughkeepsie, New York. Burial will follow at the Wappingers Rural Cemetery, Route 9D, Wappingers Falls, New York. The family would like to express their sincere thanks to Dr. Virginia Klimek of Memorial Sloan-Kettering for her invaluable assistance in the treatment of Bob's Myelodysplastic syndrome and for her constant support to the family in Bob's final days. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations in Bob's memory be made to St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 55 Wilbur Boulevard, Poughkeepsie, New York, 12603 and the Hematology Lymphoma Fund at Memorial Sloan-Kettering (www.mskcc.org/gifts/). To send the family a personal condolence or for directions to the funeral home, please visit our website at www.StraubCatalanoHalvey.com