Robert S. Wycoff

Robert S. Wycoff, 95, of Meadville, passed away on Tuesday, January 19, 2016.

He was born September 6, 1920 in Bethel Township in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh.  His parents were Harry E. and Sara Poellot Wycoff.  He grew up in Bethel and Upper St. Clair, attending elementary schools there.  After graduating from Mt. Lebanon High School in 1938, he worked in the Pittsburgh area until entering the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943.  After basic training leading to his appointment as a bombardier, he was assigned in 1945 to a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber and was sent to the Pacific Theater, stationed in the Philippines, where he flew 25 combat missions.  He was discharged with the rank of First Lieutenant in October of 1945.

Returning from the service, he attended the University of Pittsburgh under the GI Bill, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950.  In 1951 he was employed as a correspondent in the Pittsburgh office of the International News Service, and subsequently became the University of Pittsburgh’s first fulltime Sports Information Director.  Two years later he was appointed director of the University’s Public Information Office.  He subsequently moved to Washington University in St. Louis, serving seven years as the institution’s Director of Public Information.  In 1967 he moved to Meadville, where he served for 13 years as Allegheny College’s Director of Public Relations and editor of the College alumni publication.  In the 1990’s, he and his wife operated Chatham T Co. West, a screen printing firm affiliated with retail stores operated by their daughter on Cape Cod.  For a number of years more recently, Robert worked part-time for Hovis Auto and Truck Supply Co. in Meadville.

Always interested in music, Robert sang for more than 30 years in the choir of Stone United Methodist Church, where he and his wife have been active for many years.  He was a charter member and past president of Yesterday’s Sound, Crawford County’s barbershop chorus, and recipient of its 1985 Barbershopper of the Year award.  Robert was a 34-year emeritus member and past president of the Meadville Noontime Rotary Club where he was a Paul Harris Fellow.  He was editor of the Crawford County Historical Society newsletter for 10 years, a member of the Meadville Round Table and a former member and president of the Toast Masters’ Club in St. Louis.

In 1945 Robert married Dorothy Geiger, a Pittsburgh girl he met before the war. In addition to his loving wife, Dorothy, he is survived by daughter Susan Wycoff of Meadville, daughter Sandra Wycoff-Lang, and husband Jeffrey Lang of Meadville and Cape Cod; grandchildren Scott Edwards of Seattle, WA, Melissa Edwards of Waco, TX, Sara Handler, and husband Jeffrey Handler of Cape Cod, MA and Abigail Hanus of Meadville; and great-grandchildren Miles Robert Edwards and Harper Rose Edwards of Seattle and Brooks Robert Handler of Cape Cod.

In addition to his parents, Robert was predeceased by a brother, Edwin C; siblings John and Florence, who died in childhood in the flu epidemic of 1918; and sisters Helen Staley and Mary Lou Keller.

Calling hours will be Monday, January 25th from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Robert W. Waid Funeral Home, 581 Chestnut Street, Meadville.

The funeral service will be Tuesday, January 26 at 11:00 a.m. at Stone United Methodist Church, 956 South Main Street, Meadville, with Rev. Sarah Roncolato, Pastor and Rev. James Walther, Jr. officiating.  Military honors will be provided by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2006, Meadville.

Interment will be in Bethel Cemetery, Bethel Park, PA.

The family suggests memorials may be made to Yesterday’s Sound, c/o Jim Barickman, 4268 West 28th Street, Erie, PA 16506-1702, the Meadville Rotary Club, P.O. Box 119, Meadville, PA 16335 or Allegheny College, 520 N. Main Street, Meadville, PA 16335.