Robert Ganschinietz

Robert Joseph Ganschinietz, 92, of Mascoutah, Ill., passed away peacefully on Oct. 12, 2023.

He was born on Aug. 17, 1931, in East St. Louis, Ill., to Joseph W. and Virginia M. (nee Simpson) Ganschinietz. He married the former Kathryn A. McGraw on Sept. 13, 1952. They raised their two children in Belleville, Ill., moving to Mascoutah in 2005.

Bob was a 1949 graduate of East St. Louis High School. He attended Washington University and the University of Illinois, where he joined the Alpha Rho Chi architecture fraternity and the ROTC. He served in the Army at the National Security Agency (NSA) during the Korean War.

Bob was a good-natured, tender-hearted, humble man of integrity, respected both personally and professionally. He was an architect with WHGK (Weisenstein, Hausmann, Ganschinietz & Klingel) in Belleville, and later, Woolpert Inc. Many WHGK-designed local municipal buildings, schools, churches and banks built throughout his career are an enduring legacy of his accomplishments. He particularly enjoyed mentoring younger colleagues. In retirement, Bob became the part-time director of health/life safety for the St. Clair County Regional Office of Education and volunteered at the Humane Society.

He was a member of St. John United Church of Christ in Mascoutah, Scottish Rite, Ainad Shriners and the American Institute of Architects. He was a past board member of St. Paul’s Home in Belleville and a past president of Immanuel United Church of Christ in East St. Louis.

Bob enjoyed watching the Fighting Illini, Ohio State Buckeyes, St. Louis Cardinals and Hallmark Channel movies-especially with a dish of ice cream and a pet dachshund by his side.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Donald E. Ganschinietz.

He is survived by his beloved family: wife Kathryn, to whom he was happily married for 71 years; daughter Lisa (Les) Sanders of Fairview Heights, Ill.; son Glen (Deepa) Ganschinietz of Gahanna, Ohio; granddaughter Jody Kathryn Ganschinietz of Grandview Heights, Ohio; brother-in-law, Tom (Anna) McGraw of Springfield, MO; extended family members and five “granddogs.”

Bob’s family is deeply grateful to the staff of Memorial Hospital East in Shiloh and Rural Family Medicine in Mascoutah for their compassionate care.

Memorials may be made to the Belleville Area Humane Society or St. John United Church of Christ in Mascoutah.

A private service for the immediate family was held at Kurrus Funeral Home with burial in Mount Hope Cemetery.

-Kurrus Funeral Home

Belleville, IL