Robert L. Reifsteck

Greece: June 19, 2025. Robert is predeceased by his first wife, Lynne Reifsteck; second wife Wendy Reifsteck. He is survived by his sons, Craig (Lisa) Reifsteck & Cristopher Reifsteck; step-children, Karen Muncey, Ken Adami, & Janine (Christopher) Mooney; grandchildren, Matthew Muncey, Caitlyn Muncey, Christopher Mooney, & Meghan Mooney; nieces, nephews, cousins, & dear friends.

Robert’s life story will be shared during his visitation, Sunday, June 22nd, 2-4 PM at the funeral home, 1411 Vintage Lane (Between 390 & Long Pond Rd.). His funeral service will be celebrated on Monday, June 23rd, 10 AM at the funeral home. He will be laid to rest in Gorham Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Veteran’s Outreach Center, 447 South Ave., Rochester, NY 14620, https://veteransoutreachcenter.org/ways-to-donate or to Golisano Children’s Hospital, 300 E. River Rd., PO Box 278996 Rochester, NY 14627, https://tinyurl.com/94vxjnt2 in Robert’s memory.

Bob was many things. Brilliant, organized, focused (maybe even too focused sometimes), energetic, optimistic, uncompromising, diligent, more than a little dorky, faithful, enduring, unyielding, and an eager provider. He took life head on as it came, accepted what was in front him with courage and faith, and left the world a better place through his actions, his accomplishments, his embodiment of persistence, and his connection and influence with the people he left behind.

Food! Eating mostly unhealthy food as much and as often as possible. Ice cream, barbecue, roast beef, and whatever the opposite of a heart healthy diet is. He liked soup too – beef & barley, & navy bean. He loved movies and saw pretty much everything, he loved science fiction, westerns, and old classics with James Stewart, Charlton Heston, and Danny Kaye. He had similar likes on TV – probably knew all the Star Trek episodes by heart. Fast Cars – big v8s back in the day and he loved his Tesla.

Despite his love for food, he did not like cheese. Interruptions! Compromise. He was very financially savvy and hated overpriced things. He did not like inefficiency, other people’s laziness, or dishonesty. He also did not like to exercise.

Born June 30, 1941, at Geneva General Hospital in Geneva, NY during the early chapters of World War II, Ted Williams batting average stood at .404 that day and he’d end up at .406. He lived and loved the birth of rock n roll and broadcast television, both of which shaped him profoundly for the rest of his life. His fascination and awe of all kinds of technology really consumed his attention and inspired him throughout his life and was the foundation of his professional career. He was always attentive to the news of the day and his time in the Navy was mostly spent in Puerto Rico, where he was a radio operator and listened in on the tense communications during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Robert’s parents were Robert and Lucille Reifsteck. Robert worked in retail at Montgomery Ward for much of his life before eventually opening his own small grocery store in Stanley, NY. Lucille was a stay-at-home mom. Bob’s younger brother David served in the US Navy and had a lengthy career at Kodak.

Robert was a dedicated, pragmatic, and humble provider for the family. Lucille was always gentle and spoke softly. The grandchildren remember they had a large dog named Sandy with an even larger personality who would hide in the bathtub during thunderstorms and had the intelligence and dexterity to open doorknobs with her paws. Family Stories involve driving down to see them often as he was very devoted to his parents, and many of those drives in the winter involved some stressful and extremely skilled driving by Bob to navigate blizzards in the dark of night. They dug the foundation of their house in Geneva by hand and built much of that house by themselves.

Where Robert went to grade school is not remembered by family. He attended and graduated from Geneva High School in 1959. Robert has an associate’s degree in engineering. He was far prouder of his amateur radio license than his college degree. It is no coincidence that he was good with any kind of electronics, back in his day it was radios. In high School he was in projection club, radio club, stage crew, sound crew and the American Radio Relay League.

He wore some pretty groovy pants and daggar collar shirts in the 70s and loved his way too wide paisley ties. He was bummed when the Beatles broke up, but flexible enough to pivot to Supertramp, Blondie, ABBA, and the Bee Gees. He loved those early Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl runs. By the 80’s he transcended everybody’s TV habits with his own satellite dish and 5-foot projection TV. They were online at 2400 baud a decade before most people heard about the internet.

Bob served in the US Navy. He was a radio operator from 1959 – 1963, stationed in Puerto Rico for most of that time. He was a non-combat service member, but participated in some stressful, scary communications leading up to and during the Cuban missile Crisis.

His first real job was at WGVA radio. He was more of a tech person than a broadcaster, but that job really impacted him, his love for music, radio, and electronics. From there he went into the Navy and then worked at JB Stereo repairing audio equipment before embarking on his career at Kodak for 35+ years.

He was a devoted, consistent, and passionate church member throughout his adult life. Dedicated to John Knox Presbyterian Church in the 70’s, he moved to West Side Baptist in the early 80’s and continued to be an active member there from that point onward.

Fixing things. He knew far more about electronics than almost anybody, and it seemed like he never forgot anything. For him, it was more than just a hobby, it was a lifestyle. At any point in time, there were far more devices around the house that he had taken apart, just to see what was in them and to understand how they worked, than working ones. At this moment, there are 10 remote controls on a little table next to his favorite chair. Only he knows what most of them are for.

Bob met his first wife Lynne in high school. His second wife Wendy, he met though online dating.

Bob & Lynne had two sons, Craig, born January 28, 2969 & Cris, born March 13, 1971. His sons fondly remember family road trips to Ohio, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey to go to amusement parks. They also went on camping trips, travelled to Texas or California to see friends/relatives, but mostly it was all about amusement parks.

He had many friends through the years, and he kept them all – he never seemed to have any arguments or falling out episodes with anyone. His friends were from church, or work, or people who were into radio/electronic stuff. Mostly though, he spent his time with family.

He didn’t have an enduring favorite saying, he just dropped timely movie quotes, scriptures, or his own made-up sayings as the situation dictated it.

He did not play an instrument, but he loved rock ‘n roll, especially the early stuff, and even back into the days of the big band era.

Star Trek. Never missed an episode, and when it went into syndication, it was better than Christmas for him. He could never name one favorite movie; he liked so many but was especially into Science Fiction and Westerns.

His faith and connection to God and the people in his church. Everything else came second. Although he really did like taking apart electronic stuff.

Managing distractions. He was always intensely attentive to one thing at a time; whatever happened to be in front of him at that moment. He had a really tough time letting go of the current object of his attention regardless of what it was. He wanted to see that thing through to the end and complete that accomplishment and was not going to let anything deter him despite the potential consequences.

Bob’s mother had a huge impact on his life. But he was also so devoted to both of his wives – he really needed their support and ability to keep him going.

In his professional life, he gave the world several unique advances, modifications, and technological designs in the field of imaging, from microfilm readers to micrographics systems (he played a significant role in designing Kodak’s Komstar), to digital imaging (he helped design the world’s fastest scanner at one point).

Far more importantly, his way of being in the world, his connection to the people in his life, his periodic nerdy charm, his living demonstration of overcoming without yielding for 83 years, his unshakeable faith, and his love for his family will endure whenever he is remembered by family & friends, and remain with us even when we forget.

He was a provider with unique courage, endurance, and devotion. He was dedicated to his family and his relationship with God. He came from relative poverty and made his way through life with an unshakeable optimism and determination. He was successful because of his faith, his attitude, his resilience, his brilliant mind, his focus on the immediacy of small things, and maybe a little luck. The world has lost a sharp-edged diamond.