Bob was an outstanding trumpet player and during grades 9-12 played the trumpet with a dance band that performed year-round. He also played and marched with the Kittanning Fireman’s Band for several years and was sought after by some of the “big bands” but he turned them down to attend college. Bob continued playing with the local dance band during his college vacations, and he played taps for numerous military funerals during WWII.
His summer and Christmas vacations were also spent as a slip hustler at Eljer Pottery, a mail delivery person for the U.S. Post Office, a flagman for the Pennsylvania Highway Department, a stock boy, a house painter, a “cub” in his father’s architectural office, and he dug trenches for the Ford City Borough Water Company water lines.
Bob followed in his father’s footsteps and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1950 with a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering degree, completing the five-year curriculum in four years without taking summer classes.
He served in the U.S. Army for two years (1951-1953) during the Korean War. Bob completed his 14-week infantry basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, as part of the first integrated company in the service, and was stationed at the Army Chemical Center – Corps of Engineers near Baltimore. During his time in Baltimore, he also worked evenings and weekends as a draftsman in a Baltimore architectural firm.
A registered architect since 1957, and an emeritus member of the American Institute of Architects, he continued working until his retirement in 2017 at the age of 88. After working with several outstanding Pittsburgh architects, Bob opened his own architectural firm in 1958 in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. From 1959 – 1963, Bob and his brother, James K., formed a partnership with offices in Pittsburgh and Indiana. Bob became the sole proprietor upon the untimely death of his brother.
During the course of his career, Bob designed various civic, educational, religious, and health care buildings throughout Pennsylvania. These buildings include elementary schools in Red Bank, New Bethlehem, Northern Cambria, Shannock Valley, Brockway, Homer Center, Somerset, Armstrong County, and Allegheny Valley, plus the residential wing for the Mt. Lebanon Baptist Home in Pittsburgh, and dormitories at Slippery Rock and Clarion Universities, among many others. In Indiana, Pennsylvania, his designs include the Indiana Evening Gazette building, the Indiana U.S. Post Office, the Indiana Borough building and Fire Station, East Pike Elementary School, the former Indiana County Jail on North 9th Street, and the S.W. Jack Ambulance Center.
All told, Bob completed nearly 500 design commissions during his 60 years as an architect.
As previously noted, Bob was a member of the American Institute of Architects (for which he served as an arbitrator) as well as the Pennsylvania Society of Architects, the Elks (B.P.O.E), the Allied Club, and Rotary. He also served as the Vice President of the Christian Book Store and Gift Shop and was a member of the Calvary Presbyterian Church.
Throughout his lifetime, Bob served on various boards including the Salvation Army, Sentinel Savings Association, Valley Financial Services, and the Indiana County Sheltered Work Shop.
In 1991, The Salvation Army honored Bob with the “Others” Award in acknowledgement of his service as a longtime member and treasurer of the local Salvation Army Advisory Board, and again in 2012 with the Emeritus recognition.
Bob was a quiet, generous, dignified gentleman with a dry sense of humor. His generosity (often bestowed anonymously) extended to individuals and groups, and included numerous pro bono projects for non-profit organizations.
Bob’s family was his passion and he was inordinately proud of his children, their spouses, and his grandchildren.
Bob is survived by his son Fred Scheeren and wife Sally Apter Scheeren of Venetia, Pennsylvania; his daughter Susan Scheeren Watchko and husband Jon Watchko, M.D., of Sewickley, Pennsylvania; his grandchildren – Matthew Scheeren of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Daniel Scheeren of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Sara Watchko and husband Scott Hovestadt of San Francisco, California, as well as his great-granddaughter Lily Schwaderer-Scheeren of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In addition, Bob is survived by his nieces Lisa Scheeren Merrill and Jane Marsh Geoghegan, and his nephews Kurt Scheeren, Jon Marsh, and James Marsh. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife Margaret “Marge” Scheeren, his brother James K. Scheeren, and his sister Sally Scheeren Marsh.
The family extends their heartfelt gratitude to Moorehead Place for their extraordinary compassion, generosity, and care, as well as to Bob’s numerous colleagues and close friends for their steadfast support and kindness.
Friends will be received from 11 a.m. to 12 noon on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, at Bowser-Minich Funeral Home of Indiana. The funeral service will begin at 12 noon.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Bob’s memory to the Salvation Army, 635 Water Street, Indiana, PA 15701.
