Robert Schoen

Robert Schoen 81, better known to his friends as "Bob", passed away on July 5, 2014. He was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1933. Bob is survived by his children, Daniel Schoen and Andrea Smith; daughter-in-law, Tammy Schoen; sister, Suzanne Grossberg of New York and sister-in-law Barbara Bruetsch of Switzerland; granddaughters, Heather and Laci Schoen; grandson, Rory Smith, grandchildren, Charlie and Shelby Guthrie; his extended family in Hungary and the United States and many friends and coworkers. Bob was preceded in death by his wife of 45 years, Edith Schoen; his parents, Ferenc and Theresa Schoen, and his son-in-law, Greg Smith.

Bob came to the United States as a refugee in 1956 with no money and no grasp of the English language. Within 10 years, he had put himself through school and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He moved with his wife and children to Houston in 1976 and worked at Cameron Iron Works for 10 years. After the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster in 1986, he was employed by Morton-Thiokol to improve and fix the design of the "o-ring" which was originally held responsible for the accident. In 1988, he returned to Houston to work for FMC Technologies, where he remained for 25 years until his retirement in August 2013. There will be a Memorial Service to celebrate his life at 10am on Sunday, July 13, 2014 at Forest Park Funeral Home, 12800 Westheimer Rd., Houston.