Robert J. Black, 81, of Brookings and Gardnerville, Nev., died Monday, Jan. 10, 2005, in Reno, Nev. Memorial services are at 2 p.m. Saturday at Chapel in the Pines Covenant Church, Arnold, Calif. with Rev. Dave Waterman officiating. Visitation is from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at Eidsness Funeral Home, Brookings. Funeral services are at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Brookings Wesleyan Church with Rev. Tim Purcell officiating. Graveside service is at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Trinity Cemetery near Oldham. He was born Aug. 7, 1923, in Eau Claire, Wisc., to Robert and Gertrude (Granger) Black. He grew up in several small towns in Wisconsin. He graduated from Iron River High School and attended Northland College for two years, singing and travelling with its acapella choir. He served in the Army during World War II, training in Oklahoma before deploying with his signal corps unit to The Philippines. He was also part of the occupation force in Japan. After Army service, he attained a bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California. He married Ardelle Folsland of Oldham, Jun. 21, 1949, in Los Angeles. They lived briefly in Berkeley, Calf., while he completed coursework. They moved to New York, where General Electric employed him. He later worked for General Electric, IBM and Diablo Systems, Inc., in California. He obtained six patents and received an Outstanding Invention Award from IBM. He attended Los Gatos (Calif.) Christian Church for many years and was active in its choir. He retired to Murphys, Calif., in the Sierra Nevada foothills, serving as head elder, choir member, missions committee member, and Bible study participant at Chapel in the Pines. He enjoyed music, hiking, and spending time with family. He is survived by his wife; son, Robert, Jr., of Minden, Nev.; three daughters, Karen (Ken) Sosa of San Jose, Calf., Lauren (Louis) Hesler of Brookings, and Deborah (Bradley) Huss of Chanhassen, Minn.; and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his brother and one granddaughter.