Robert A. Walas

Robert A. "Bob" Walas went home to be with Jesus on May 8, after a brief and sudden infection. He was 63 years young.

A celebration of life service will be held at First Evangelical Free in Moline (on 7th street) on Saturday, May 13th at 11:00 a.m., followed by a luncheon to gather with family and friends. Cremation will take place at Trimble Crematory, Moline, under the direction of Trimble Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to First Evangelical Free Church or Youth Hope (Christian Friendliness), both in Moline where Bob humbly and passionately served unto the Lord.

Bob loved his Savior, family, and friends whole heartily. He was affectionately called dad by Sarah (Jace Teed), Mary (Chris Bjorkland), Tom, Joe, and Olesia. As a dad it was his joy to help with homework, coach activities, play games, encourage, challenge, and pray faithfully for his children and grandchildren.

His greatest pleasure in life was watching his children grow and walk in truth to serve the Lord. He was a devoted and constant support to his wife Ann (Carton) of 37 years. Ann would often say Bob was her better half. Bob and Ann had a beautiful way of complimenting each other in life. They enjoyed serving in ministry side by side unto the Lord. Bob was known as Baba to his grandchildren, Cylus and Seneca. They loved Baba so much, and he cherished spending extra time together in his retirement.

Bob was proud to be the son of Helen Walas (Youngstown, Ohio), and the belated Joseph Walas. He was a brother to Jo Ann (Jim) Scherffius (San Jose, CA) and Margaret (John) Venglarcik (Youngstown, Ohio).

Bob graduated from Augustana College, Rock Island, with a B.A in Physics in 1975. He graduated from University of IL with a Mechanical Engineering degree and earned a Masters in Industrial and Management Engineering from the University of Iowa in 1983. Bob felt blessed to work at John Deere for more than 40 years in East Moline, Silvis, and Moline. Most recently, he worked at JD Cylinder as a PDP Data Supervisor along with PDP Business Unit Lead. He retired in January 2017.

Bob's life was forever changed in 1992 when he received Jesus into his life. Bob understood that he was a sinner in need of God's gift of grace and he put his hope in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection for his salvation. In an obituary that he wrote for himself several years ago he gave Philippians 3:8-9 as his mission statement. "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord."

Visit Bob's personal tribute page at www.TrimbleFuneralHomes.com to share stories and condolences, and light a candle in his memory.