Robert T. Denbo Sr.

Robert Thomas Denbo Sr., 96, of Hot Springs, Ark., passed away on Dec. 9, 2018, at St. Vincent hospital after declining health.

Bob was born on Easter Sunday, April 16, 1922, in Beaumont, Texas, the son of the late Bruce Emerson Denbo and Nancy Ursula Hamilton Denbo.

He is survived by his wife, Peggy Sygalas Denbo; his children, Robert Thomas Denbo Jr., Mary Gay Denbo Lynn, Nancy Jane Denbo Iwamoto; six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

He graduated from LSU with a BA in Chemistry in 1948. He was Student Council president of the College of Chemistry and Physics in 1942-43.

Bob served as the captain of an artillery battery in the Philippines during World War II. His unit was scheduled for the third wave of the attack on the Japanese mainland. The atom bombs dropped on Japan stopped the war and spared his life.

Bob worked at the Baton Rouge Refinery (now ExxonMobil) from 1948 until his retirement in 1983. His career included being a co-inventor of a patent titled “Process for Refining Petroleum Fractions,” in 1966. In the 1970s, Bob participated in a technology exchange with Russian petroleum engineers. He also became a pioneer in refinery pollution control while working for the Exxon Refinery.

Bob married Peggy Jean Sygalas on Dec. 18, 1977. They moved to Hot Springs Village in 1994.

Bob also served in leadership and teaching roles in churches in Baton Rouge and the Hot Springs area.

A memorial service will be 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018, at Caruth-Hale Funeral Home.

Burial will be 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14, 2018, at Greenoaks Memorial Park Cemetery, in Baton Rouge, La.

Guest register is http:// www.caruth-hale.com.