Robert Herman Trenkamp, Jr.
Robert H. Trenkamp, Jr., age 74, of Skidaway Island, GA, died Wednesday, January 4, 2018, with his family by his side. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio on June 27, 1943. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and Applied Science from Yale University in 1965 and his MBA from Case-Western Reserve University. He began his career as an electrical engineer, soon moving into management, eventually having profit and loss management responsibility for a $300 million group of four high-tech companies within a Fortune 500 corporation. In 1981, Bob founded Lloyd Harbor Resources, a consultancy that specialized in reversing the trajectory of troubled high tech companies, both large and small. Following his retirement in 2001, he earned his EMT and Paramedic credentials in both New York and Georgia. He successfully completed the Critical Care Emergency Medical Transport-Paramedic course at the Medical College of Georgia. He then began working the night shift twice a week at Savannah’s Level I Trauma Center and filling in on ambulances with Southside Fire Department. It was his love of helping others and his experiences as a paramedic that fueled Bob to co-found Saving Lives in Chatham County (“SLICC”), a 501(c)(3) public charity founded to reduce the needless death and disability that occurs when someone suffers a cardiac arrest or a stroke and nobody nearby knows what to do. Through this work, he trained thousands of people in CPR, stroke recognition, the Heimlich maneuver, and AED usage. He also conducted numerous research projects to advance the survival rates of people having a sudden cardiac arrest. His work has been published in medical journals and shared at national cardiac care conferences. In addition to his residence at The Landings, Bob loved spending time with family and friends at his home on Lake Chautauqua in New York for the last 40 years. As one of the founders and appointed “commodore” of the “Maple Springs Yacht Club,” Bob provided many laughs and much love-filled time with dear friends while visiting from porch to porch and enjoying cocktails by the fire pit.
He especially enjoyed watching his grandsons play at the park, swim, and learn to sail. Bob was an avid and skilled sailor. In addition to spending time on his boat, he also participated in several significant sailboat races, including navigating Sydney Hobart, Daimler Chrysler Trans-Atlantic, Marblehead Halifax, and multiple Newport-Bermuda races. The boat he navigated won the Newport Bermuda Race 2004. Serving many roles on the racing crew, his favorite role and what he was known for was navigation. He would spend months compiling data and charting a successful race experience. His dedication, knowledge, intelligence, hard-work, attention to detail, and resourcefulness earned him the reputation of being a favorite navigator for racing teams. Bob was a great friend and mentor to many people he encountered. His unique, vivacious, and cheeky sense of humor filled a room with laughter. He had a keen intellect and insatiable desire to constantly learn new things, particularly as it related to technology, engineering, and improving the lives of others. Bob loved nothing more than his family, and particularly delighted in engaging with his grandsons – making them laugh and encouraging them to question and explore. He is predeceased by his parents, Robert Herman Trenkamp and Wilma Simon Trenkamp; and his sister, Wilma Anne Trenkamp. He is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Frances (Shar) Trenkamp; his sister, Sally Dowling (Joseph) of Providence, Rhode Island; his son, Robert G. Trenkamp (Kara) of Potomac, Maryland; his daughter, Hilary Greenwood (Dominic), of Zurich, Switzerland; and five grandsons, Bobby, Charlie, Tommy, Bryn, and Rhys. A celebration of life will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 3, 2018 at the Delegal Marina’s Sunset Pavilion in Savannah, GA.
Published in The Plain Dealer from Jan. 18 to Jan. 21, 2018