Obituary of Robert O Welk

Welk, Robert O.

Penfield: Died March 13, 2025 at the age of 97.  Predeceased by his son, David and the love of his life, wife Joanne.  Bob is survived by Son Steve (Jackie); Daughter Susan Welk Lindsay (Keith LeBeau); Grandchildren Jeff (Kate); Tim (Katie); Christina Matison (Joe) and six Great Grandchildren; Llewyn, Louisa, Weston, Carter, Jace and Dawson.

Bob grew up in Chicago Heights Illinois and served in the Navy during WWII. He then obtained a Master’s degree in Statistics from the University of Illinois. In 1952 he was recruited to work at Eastman Kodak in their Statistics Department and progressed up the ranks to become Kodak’s Chief Economist.  Bob then took an early retirement in 1983 and ran his own consulting firm ROWTEK for the next 10 years.  He continued to publish monthly forecasts on his ROWTEK web page until the beginning of this year.

Bob (and Joanne) were founding members of Faith Lutheran Church in Penfield shortly after he and Joanne moved to Rochester, and he served in countless leadership and ministry roles within the church over the decades. He still attended church or watched on line until the last couple weeks of his life, his strong faith being at the core of his outstanding character. 

He loved golf and played until he was about 90. He had also enjoyed watching golf on TV.  In addition, he very rarely missed a rerun of the Lawrence Welk Show. Bob was also a bit of a sports car enthusiast. He had a Corvair early on, then a Bricklin and eventually a Corvette which still remains in the family. Most importantly, he enjoyed his children, grandchildren and was even blessed to spend time with all of his great grandchildren (who called him “Super Grandpa”).

Visitation will be held on Friday March 28, from 4-7pm at Jennings, Nulton & Mattle Funeral Home 1704 Penfield Rd. His memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 29, 11:00am at Faith Lutheran Church, 2576 Browncroft Blvd.  In lieu of flowers, donations to Faith Lutheran in his memory would be appreciated.