World War II veteran Robert Rosenwald never forgot Robbinsdale

Robert Rosenwald never forgot his Robbinsdale roots, after helping to defend his nation as a Navy officer during World War II, or later as an engineer for Honeywell in Minneapolis.

Rosenwald, of Spooner, Wis., active in the Robbinsdale Historical Society until recently, died on June 25 in Spooner.

He was 85.

After he graduated from the old Robbinsdale High School in 1939, where he played varsity football as well as baseball and hockey, he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota in the 1940s.

During World War II, he joined the Navy and trained at the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Next stop: The Pacific Theater, where he was assigned to an LCI, or landing craft infantry.

Sailing on the landing craft, crude for an ocean-going vessel, regularly made passengers and crew seasick. And Rosenwald was no exception, said his wife, Verna of Spooner.

In his 20s, he was the oldest of the crew.

"He was so proud of what he was doing," said his wife.

For a short while after the war, he served as a submariner on the East Coast of the United States.

He was hired by Honeywell to work in its Aeronautical Division, where he helped adapt the gyroscope for navigation in aircraft. Later, he would work on ring laser gyros.

Tom Kingston of Nowthen, Minn., a former Honeywell engineer and hunting partner of Rosenwald's, said he also worked on fuel management systems used on the KC-135 jet tanker.

After he retired in 1985, Rosenwald had homes in Wisconsin and in the Twin Cities, enjoying fishing, bird watching and operating his ham radio.

Until recent years, he remained active at the Robbinsdale Historical Society and was a former board member of the group which donated family items to its museum, such as a photo of his father from his days as a University of Minnesota athlete.

Robert Rosenwald's first wife, Lucille, died in 1980.

He is survived by his wife, Verna; children, Susan Bruso of Sterling, Mass., Barbara Gruidl of Andover; William Rosenwald of Glencoe, Minn., Candace Beaulieu of New Brighton and Ted Baier of Key West, Fla.; a sister, Dorothy Smith of Oakland, Calif.; eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.