Robert Van Wyck Jahrling Jr. ’52
Robert Van Wyck Jahrling Jr. ’52 of Ridgefield, Connecticut, and Chautauqua, New York, died at home on November 2, 2020, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Bob was born April 9, 1931, in Brooklyn. His youth was centered in Jamaica, New York, and Ridgewood, New Jersey, while his summers were spent at Lake Chautauqua in western New York state. There, in 1946, he met Gretchen Linder, to whom he was married for 67 years. Bob graduated from Ridgewood High School, Dartmouth, and the Amos Tuck School of Business. At Dartmouth he was a member of Kappa Sigma, honored as a Rufus Choate scholar, and always a loyal alumnus. After college Bob served as an officer in the U.S. Navy, then spent his entire career with accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. He was a partner in the firm’s New York City office and served as lead officer for several major multinational accounts, including Exxon, Kodak, and Anaconda, which allowed him to travel the globe. He was a member of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ policy board. Bob was a passionate sailor and, if he wasn’t tinkering with his boats, he was racing them. The family’s Chautauqua lakehouse is covered with his racing ribbons and trophies. In addition to Gretchen, Bob is survived by children Heidi, Robert ’79, Gretchen, Timothy, and Jennifer and their spouses as well as 14 grandchildren.
