Robert "Bob" Abrams, 88, of Cream Ridge (Upper Freehold Township) entered into God's loving embrace on Friday July 9, 2021 at The Manor Health and Rehabilitation Center after a courageous battle with congestive heart failure.  Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, son of the late Albert Abrams and Susan (Klimko) Abrams.  He and Joanne "Jody" Abrams, his wife of 55 years, Joanne "Jody" (Schiferl) Abrams would eventually design and build their dream home in 1966 and settle in Upper Freehold Township for the remainder of their lives.

Bob is predeceased by his wife, Joanne "Jody" (Schiferl) Abrams.  Bob is survived by his daughter, Sherry Springsteen, and her husband, Ron Springsteen of Port St. Lucie, Florida; his son, Gary Rex Abrams, of Cream Ridge; sister, Ceil Sochocki of Toms River, niece Linda Reed and her husband Jim Reed and their children of Toms River; niece Linda Huss and her husband Bill Huss and their children of Toms River.

Bob spent four years in the U.S. Navy as an aircraft mechanic, serving during the Korean War achieving the rank of First Class Petty Officer.  He was a helicopter flight tester with Boeing Vertol; working at Princeton University on the Tokomak atomic fusion project; helped Thiokol and later Morton Thiokol's engineering team build the Minuteman missile; and supervised the Gemini and Surveyor Moon Lander projects.  After the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986, Bob was assigned to the accident investigation team.  In addition, Bob received an Air Force commendation for his investigation of the Peacekeeper missile accident in Utah.

Locally, Bob was honored to serve on the Upper Freehold Township Committee for 21 years from 1974 to 1995 and was a seven-time Mayor in 1976, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1992.  He would be the first non-farmer to be elected to the Township Committee.  Always a proponent of nature and wildlife, Bob loved the beauty of Upper Freehold Township and at all times his public service was motivated by his passionate desire to maintain the rural quality of "the Township".  In 2003, Bob would be honored by the Upper Freehold Township Municipal Committee for his many years of service to the community.

His personal interests included freshwater and saltwater fishing.  He was a collector of Native`American artifacts and dinosaur fossils and he would share his collection and give lectures on the subject to many local elementary schools each year.  Bob was an expert in rare and exotic rhododendrons and adorned his eight-acre property with hybrids of the various species-the colorful flowers of which continue to bloom every May.  In addition,  Bob's love of travel included his many trips to England and Europe with his wife, Jody, and daughter, Sherry.  In addition, Bob loved his trips with his son, Gary, to Australia (where he would live, hunt and eat with the aborigines), New Zealand, Thailand, Communist China and Hong Kong--to witness the England to China "Changeover" in 1997.

The family would like to gratefully acknowledge the doctors and nurses at Centra State Medical Center and The Manor Health and Rehabilitation Center in Freehold for their loving care in his final weeks and days.

Funeral Services will be held 11 am Thursday, July 15 at the Peppler Funeral Home, 114 S. Main St. Allentown, NJ. Friends may call on the family from 10 am until time of service. Interment will follow in Cream Ridge Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675.