Grandpa

Engineer worked at Ford, Hudson's

The Detroit News

Robert A. Priebe, a former longtime Dearborn resident, loved all things mathematical and had the respect of family and friends.

Mr. Priebe's son, Robert Jr., said his father will be remembered as a diligent man who had a gentle side.

"Family was very important to him both extended and immediate," Priebe said. "He was a guy who was always fair. He was soft-spoken and always won the respect of everyone he met both professionally and socially."

Mr. Priebe died Friday, May 4, 2007 at his home in Prescott, Ariz., of coronary insufficiency as a result of metabolic syndrome. He was 81.

Mr. Priebe was a graduate of Fordson High School in Dearborn and a graduate of Lawrence Institute of Technology where he earned an industrial engineering degree in 1951.

Mr. Priebe worked at several Metro Detroit corporations, including Ford Motor Company where he worked in Brussels at Ford International during the early 1960s.

He also worked at Chatham supermarkets, Brooks & Perkins engineering firm, and the J.L. Hudson department store chain.

Mr. Priebe's family said he loved mathematics and took great satisfaction in solving problems, including monthly spreadsheets of his investment portfolio, balancing his checkbook and preparing his annual income tax forms.

A U.S. Navy veteran, Mr. Priebe was a member of the Lions Club in Arizona and served as chapter president.

In 1994, the Lions Club awarded him the Melvin Jones Fellowship, the highest honor given to a member for his commitment to humanitarian causes.

Mr. Priebe and his wife Mary, who died in 2002, moved to Arizona in 1986.

A big Detroit Tigers fan, Mr. Priebe gradually put his loyalty behind the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Survivors are his son, Robert Jr.; a daughter, Carol Ann Roseman; a sister, Rose Marie Bala; a brother, Edward; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

A funeral Mass was held last week at St. Germaine Catholic Church in Prescott Valley, Ariz.

Interment was in Heritage Memorial Park in Dewey, Ariz.

Memorial tributes may be sent to the American Heart Association, 2929 South 48th St., Tempe, AZ, 85282.