Lt. Col. Martin Robert Karig, III 66, career Army officer, author

Lt. Col. Martin Robert Karig, III (Army, retired), 66, of Lancaster, died suddenly surrounded by his family in San Antonio, Texas, Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. Bob was in San Antonio attending an alumni association reunion of Alpha Troop 2nd Squadron/17th Calvary 101st Airborne Division (Air Mobile/Assault), of which he was a founding father and driving force in the association.

Born in Middletown, N.Y., he was the son of the late Martin R. Karig, Jr. and Dorothy Kortright Karig. He held a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Alfred University, a master’s degree in business administration from Georgetown University, and had studied international business at Oxford University.

Bob was a career Army officer who served two combat tours in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot, before retiring from active military duty in 1989. Among his medals and citations were the Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal and two Air Medals, one awarded for valor. Bob worked in the Pentagon while in the Army and then as a civilian for the University of Maryland and also served on a consortium for Lockheed Martin.

After retiring from industry as a research and development program manager, Bob moved to Lancaster where he volunteered as a researcher and docent at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg. He also volunteered for the Ontario & Western Railways in Middletown, NY, Landis Valley Museum in Lancaster and Habitat for Humanity. Bob was a former member of the East Hempfield Township Planning Commission. He attended Faith United Methodist Church in Lancaster.

An author, Bob’s first two books: "Hard Coal and Coal Dust" and "Coal Cars: The First Three Hundred Years," dealt with the history of freight car technology. He was currently working on a third book, "From West Shore to Coal Fields," which traces the business histories of the New York, West Shore & Buffalo and the New York, Ontario & Western Railways, and a novel, "Pennies From Heaven."

Bob will be lovingly missed by his fiancée: Dolores "Dolly" L. Bankert of Lititz; his sister: Lynda Karig Hohmann, M.D. of Albany, N.Y.; his brother: Thomas W. Karig, husband of Laurie of Port Huron, Mich.; his stepchildren: Robert Harvey and Rhett Price; his granddaughters: Hillary Brindley and Hope Price; his aunt: Helen O’Leary; his uncle: Don Kortright (Merle); and several nieces and nephews and grandnephews.

He was preceded in death by his brother: Peter Allen Karig.

Services were held Nov. 7 at the Charles F. Snyder Jr. Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc., Lititz, with Rev. Kent E. Kroehler officiating. Interment with full military honors will take place at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery. Please omit flowers.

Memorial Contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 or woundedwarriorproject.org

To send the family online condolences, please visit SnyderFuneralHome.com.