Robert R. Loyd

Robert R. Loyd, age 100, of Newark, DE, passed away peacefully on September 16, 2018.

Born in LaClede, IL, on October 4, 1917, he was the son of the late Edward W. and Norine (Elliott) Loyd. Robert graduated from Effingham High School in Effingham, IL in 1935 and from the University of Illinois ““Urbana-Champaign ““with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in January 1940. After working at U.S. Steel, he was interviewed and selected by the U.S. Air Force to serve as Asst. Supervisor maintaining the furnaces at Wyman-Gordon in Harvey, IL, for their 24 hour a day operation. Later he worked as a design engineer for Packomatic and as a project engineer for Chicago Carton Company (both in IL) until 1951. Moving his family to Delaware, he began a long career with the DuPont Company as a Mechanical Engineer in Wilmington and later at Louviers until his retirement in 1982. Robert continued to stay active and managed the DuPont Fish & Game Skeet and Trap field at Louviers until it closed in 1994. From 1994 to 2017 he worked at Ommelanden Hunter Education Training Center for the State of Delaware, teaching skeet, helping in any way he could until finally retiring at age 100.

Robert shared many friendships with fellow hunters and fishermen during his lifelong pursuit of those sports. He also enjoyed skeet and trap shooting. Passionate about hunting and gun safety, Robert was an NRA life member and an accredited instructor in all branches of hunter education and gun safety. He belonged to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and was a 32degree Mason. As an early member of the Calvary Baptist Church in Newark, DE, he took on many leadership roles. He and his wife, Mabel, made many trips around the country visiting and seeing the sights, as far as Alaska. They also enjoyed bowling together and card games. Robert’s fondest memories besides those times with his family and friends of all ages were the ones spent with his various hunting dogs, most recently his constant companion “Sam”.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his loving wife of 74 years, Mabel E. (Ginther) Loyd , and his sisters Nadine Nicholas of IL and Margaret Cleaver of TX. Robert is survived by his daughters, Virginia L. Jenson (Bernard) of Landenberg, PA, Barbara E. Stevens of Newark, DE and Beverly R. Smith of Cuyahoga Falls, OH. He will be missed greatly and remembered lovingly by his 8 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and a host of friends.

A visitation for family and friends will be held from 5 pm until 7 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2018, at Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 121 West Park Place, Newark, DE. A funeral service will be held at 10 am on Monday, September 24, 2018, at Calvary Baptist Church, 215 East Delaware Avenue, Newark, DE. Interment will follow in Gracelawn Memorial Park, 2220 North DuPont Parkway, New Castle, DE.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Robert’s memory to the NRA Whittington Center, Attn: Robert R. Loyd Memorial, P.O. Box 700, Raton, NM 87740 or the St. Jude Research Children’s Hospital, P.O. Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN 38148-1042.