By ROBERT L. HENGSTENBERG Dec. 8, 1948 – Oct. 18, 2024
Robert L. Hengstenberg (Bob) passed away Oct. 18, 2024, at the age of 75 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. Born Dec. 8, 1948, to Leo F. and Dolores E. Hengstenberg in Santa Fe, Bob was the eldest of three children.
He is survived by his wife Carol; his sisters Irene Holland and Carol McSmith (Bill); daughter Abigail Hengstenberg, son Robert W. Hengstenberg; grandchildren Harper Gamble, Mia Jaramillo (Juan) and Layla Tapia; in-laws Ann Zeltmann, Tom Zeltmann (Kay), and Jill Rice (Scott); and many nieces and nephews and their families.
He is preceded in death by his parents, his half-brother Wayne Hengstenberg and his brother-in-law Tom Holland.
Throughout his life Bob told tales of his childhood on 48th Street in Los Alamos and remained friends with his buddies from the neighborhood. He was educated in the Los Alamos schools, graduating from Los Alamos High School in 1966. He then went on to college at Eastern New Mexico University where he double majored in biology and geology, was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, and thrived on the tennis court as a member of the university team. Bob returned to Los Alamos after college and happily transformed into a hippie, living life on his terms. He continued to live his entire adult life following his own unique path.
Bob held a wide variety of jobs including Forman for North American Van Lines, tractor-truck driver for UPS, and Radiation Control Technician at Los Alamos National Laboratory, but he preferred to work for himself and lived very simply and environmentally throughout his life. He particularly enjoyed his time spent in the beautiful New Mexico forests cutting firewood, and the many interesting construction/destruction jobs he had with clients. He was also an avid collector of classic used vehicles and anything else that might be useful, which he sold from Honest Bob’s (his business in Chimayo.) Most of all he enjoyed designing and building his own home in Chimayo. He made many of the adobe bricks for his home, hauled vigas from the woods, acquired doors, windows and many other necessary supplies from demolition projects in New Mexico, and then used these materials to construct his home with the help of friends and family.
In January1975, he married Carol Lynn Zeltmann, also from Los Alamos, and they set up housekeeping in their hand-built home in Chimayo. Shortly thereafter, they had two children, Abigail and Robert, numerous pets, pigs, chickens, goats and a small subsistence farm. Abby and Rob adopted much of Bob’s attitude toward life, including their abilities to repair their own cars and other dysfunctional machines and appliances that crossed their paths.
Bob was a homebody who loved his life in Chimayo, especially the warm and inviting home he had built. He continued to love rock collecting throughout his life and was always refreshing the pile of rocks that decorated many surfaces in and outside of his home. If you couldn’t find Bob at home, more than likely he was in the bowling alley. Bob was a passionate bowler his entire life and continued to bowl until a month before his death. With his enthusiasm and knowledge of bowling he encouraged many other people to take up the sport. On one perfect day he bowled a perfect 300 game.
Bob was a one-of-a-kind character who will be missed terribly. If you knew Bob, you will never forget his “Howdy Do!”
The family is planning a celebration of Bob’s life at home Nov. 9. If you wish, please make donations in honor of Robert Hengstenberg to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Grand Central Station PO Box 4777, New York, NY 10163.