Obituary of Robert A. Harold Sr.

Harold, Robert A., Sr. Rochester: Friday, March 24, 2017, at the age of 88 after a brief illness. Preceded in death by the love of his life, his wife of 50+ years, Mary Maglaras Harold, his parents, Cornelius May Harold and Alma Wales Harold, his brother, Richard P. Harold, his infant grandson, Tyler John Harold, and his infant granddaughter, Rose Annunziata. He is survived by his children, Robert, Jr. (Donna) of Illinois, Mark, Dawn (Mark) Annunziata, Michael, Sr. (Robin), James, Sr. (Trish), his grandchildren, Erika, Alexandra (Henry), Stacia (Brian), Nicholas (Kirsten), Valentina, Louis, Anastasia, Michael, Jr., Luke, James, Jr., Hannah and Ethan, his great grandchildren, Gabrielle, Canon, Noah, Nahla and Sire. Also survived by his sister, Jean Marie Daniels of AZ, his sisters-in-law, Vasilia Bellemeur of NH, and, Ourania Marshman of ME. Also survived by several nieces and nephews. Bob attended School #16 in the City of Rochester and graduated from West High School in 1947, where he was an excellent swimmer on the Varsity Swim Team. He retired from Xerox Corporation in 1995 after 27 years of dedicated service where he worked in the Research Labs and where he, along with his team, were able to secure three United States Patents. During his younger years, Bob worked as a pin setter at Reynolds Bowling Alley on Thurston Road, as a meat cutter at Mohicans and Loblaws, loaded oil into trucks at Richfield Oil Terminal on Chili Avenue, sold Hoover vacuum cleaners door to door and also at a booth in Sibley's downtown, worked at Parazin as a roll grinder and electroplater, at Don Blum & Company where he did electroplating and sold plating equipment to technicians, and worked at PKG Equipment Company. Bob served in the Navy from 1948-1953 on the USS Trumpetfish and USS Bluefish submarines. On one very memorable morning during his service, Bob was late and was running very fast on the Key West Naval Base, and when he turned the corner he smacked right into President Harry S. Truman and knocked him off his feet. The secret service agents were not thrilled! In 1953, at the end of his service, he met his beautiful wife, Mary, in York Beach, Maine when, after just hitching a ride back to the base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he spotted her with her sister and mom on the side of the road with a flat tire. He gave up his ride, helped change their tire and the rest is history. Great history. They married on August 29, 1953, just two months and two days after they met. He spent countless hours watching his children and grandchildren play sports, attending their games, concerts and plays, taking photos and videos, always supporting their many interests. He loved to watch the birds at his feeders, eat at Critic's and have his morning coffee with his family. Above all else, he set an awesome example for his children on what it means to be a good dad. Bob spent many hours volunteering as a coach in baseball, with the B.O.Y., and Babe Ruth baseball leagues, was President of the Rochester Babe Ruth Baseball League, was a Pop Warner football coach, and coached the Rochester Rams football team. He helped to protect his neighborhood working with the Rochester Police Department's PAC-TAC volunteers. Bob was the Captain of the Industrial Men's Bowling League and bowled on Thursday nights. He and his team members were Olympic Bowl 1964-65 Champions. Bob also loved to fish on Sydenham Lake in Ontario, Canada while vacationing there with his wife and children. Bob was a longtime member of the Rochester Bassmasters where he served for a few years as head of the Ethics Committee. He didn’t compete in tournaments but thoroughly enjoyed attending weigh-ins and was proud to be there to witness his son, Mark, secure the title of “Angler of the Year” eight times. Some of his children still love to fish today. Although he was proud of all of his grandchildren, Bob always loved telling the story about his granddaughter, Erika, who won the title of Miss America 2003. His family will receive friends Thursday 5-8pm at Harris Funeral Home (570 Kings Hwy S.), where his funeral service will be held Friday 10:00am. Interment Holy Ghost Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Veterans Outreach Center, 447 South Avenue, Rochester, New York 14620.