Robert M. Skirkanich, age 82, of East Northport, a retired aerospace engineer for Sikorsky and Grumman Aerospace Corporation, died March 29.
He was an organizer of running experiences and coached weekly practices for the Northport Running Club. He was also a parishioner of St. Andrew’s Orthodox Church in Dix Hills.
He had worked on the Apollo Program including the Lunar Excursion Module (“the Eagle”) among many other projects. Later became an auditor and was active in the Institute of Internal Auditors.
He was the husband of Kathleen Sullivan Skirkanich, and father of daughters Laurie Harrison (Scott), Beth Skirkanich (Bob Olson), and Jennifer Skirkanich (Craig Santoro), four grandchildren, Christopher and Jordan Harrison, and Eli and Hannah Santoro, his brother, Bill Skirkanich and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
He was a graduate of Stratford High School, class of 1959, and earned his BS in Physics and Psychology from the University of Connecticut and his MBA from Hofstra University.
A prayer service is scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m. at St. Andrew OCA Church,
1095 Carlls Straight Path, Dix Hills. Visitation is on Friday, from 4-7 p.m. in the Adzima Funeral Home 50 Paradise Green Place Stratford, Conn. Panachida at 4:30 p.m.
A Requiem Funeral Service will be celebrated on Saturday at 10 a.m. meeting directly at the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church of St. John the Baptist, 364 Mill Hill Avenue Bridgeport. Interment will follow in St. John’s Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Northport Running Club, Bob Skirkanich Memorial Fund (supporting leadership and creativity among youth runners), PO Box 554, Northport, NY 11768; or Visiting Nurses Association Hospice of Suffolk (Hospice House), 505 Main Street, Northport, NY 11768.