Robert W

Colgan, Sr.

Robert W. Colgan, Sr.
Robert W. Colgan, Sr., age 93, of Toledo and Sylvania, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 11. Bob loved Toledo, loved the electrical industry, loved the University of Toledo and UT sports, loved to fish and play cards, and loved his family.
Born in East Toledo on November 7, 1921 to William J. and Helyn (Hall) Colgan, Bob and his sister, Viva, grew up on the East Side. He graduated from Morrison R. Waite High School in 1939, where he distinguished himself as a diver on the high school swim team.
During World War II, Bob served with the U.S. Army Signal Corps at the invasion of Okinawa and during the occupation of Korea after Japan surrendered. He liked telling his children how he ran the photo lab, the barbershop and the crap games on the bases where he served.
During his time in the Pacific, he maintained a long-distance love affair with Emily Catherine Applewhite, a young North Carolina girl he met at a dance at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville. A month after his discharge, Bob and Emily were married at Hay Street Methodist Church in Fayetteville on March 24, 1946, and the couple returned to Toledo to set up their home and raise a family. Bob and Em celebrated their 69th anniversary in March.
During his stateside Army service, Bob attended engineering classes at Clemson and Auburn. After completing his electrical engineering degree at Toledo University in 1947, he was hired as an electrical power equipment salesman for GE Supply Company.
Joining Rogers Electrical Service as a partner in 1951, he grew the business to one of the largest and most successful electrical contracting firms in NW Ohio, changing the name to Colgan Electric Company, Inc. after buying out his partner in the early 1960s. At its peak, his company employed over 600 electricians.
Bob was recognized as a local and national leader in the electrical construction industry. Locally, he served on a wide variety of boards and committees for the Toledo Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). He was elected Chapter President and Governor for numerous terms. He served as District II Vice President (1967-1973) and was elected NECA National President where he served three consecutive terms (1973-1979).
He was recognized nationally for his service to the electric industry in 1975 with the McGraw Award, and again in 1977 with the Comstock Award for outstanding contribution to the industry in the field of labor relations. At his passing, he was the last surviving Founding Fellow of the Academy of Electrical Contracting (founded in 1968). President Ford also invited him to serve on a White House panel about rampant inflation in the mid-1970s.
Bob retired from Colgan Electric in 1989. During his 40-plus years in the industry, he was responsible for prominent electrical contracts that included Davis-Besse Nuclear Station, One Seagate Center, the Government Center, Seagate Convention Center, numerous buildings at UT, and all the automotive and glass plants in Northwest Ohio.
Bob played just as hard as he worked. He loved to fish, golf and play cards. He was a stalwart member of a regular Friday night poker game that started in the 1940s and continued into the 2000s. He enjoyed fishing for walleye and perch in Lake Erie, as well as mackerel and kings off the coast of North Carolina. He built a beautiful cottage on the shore at Burgundy Bay on Middle Bass Island, which his family enjoyed for almost 40 years.
Bob also loved his hometown Toledo, and would never even discuss living anywhere else. A faithful follower of his UT Rockets and Toledo Mudhens, he held season basketball tickets for both men's and women's games.
Bob is survived and fondly remembered by his wife Emily, sons Rob (Kathy) of Perrysburg and Rand "Harmony Aquarian" of Port Motueka, New Zealand, daughters Cynthia (Ron) Cox of Gainesville, GA and Amy (Brian) Eytchison of Nashville, TN, grandchildren Rob Colgan III, Callie (Andy) Schwartz, Karen (Lane) Owen, Jamie (Jennifer) Graff, Carey (Tim) LaFeve, Emily Eytchison, Patrick Eytchison, Lucas Eytchison, Aubrey Eytchison, Happy Melody Aquarian, sister-in-law Maryesta Steckman, eight nieces and nephews, Terri (Gary) Barricklow, Judy (Damon-deceased) Casey, Jim Steckman, Beth (Paul) Bartlett, Jennifer (Graham) Pelletier, David Smilay, Janice (Hal) Paden, Walter (Leslie) Applewhite, and eight great-grandchildren.
Bob's family would like to thank the sisters and staff of the Franciscan Care Center who helped make his final days comfortable and dignified.
Visitation is 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Foth-Dorfmeyer Mortuary, 3815 Sylvania Avenue, Toledo.
The funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, August 15 at Foth-Dorfmeyer Mortuary. Burial will follow at Ottawa Hills Memorial Park, Toledo.
Memorial contributions may be made to Epworth United Methodist Church, 4855 W. Central Avenue, Toledo, OH 43615 or the University of Toledo Foundation.