Submitted by: Dan Rich

Robert Blaine Altemose

March 31, 1923 - June 4, 2001

South Bend Tribune 6/7/2001

Robert Blaine Altemose, 78, of Hilltop Drive, South Bend, passed away at 8:10 p.m. on Monday in Memorial Hospital. He was born on March 31, 1923, in Stroudsburg, Pa., and had lived in South Bend many years. He is survived by his wife, Prudence (Harding), and they were married for 56 years. He is also survived by two daughters, Cynthia (Kenneth) Losch of Hallock, MN, Pamela (late Thomas) Frederick of South Bend, IN; and six grandchildren, Jennifer, Samantha, Jonathan and Stephanie Losch of MN, Blaine Frederick of Indianapolis, IN, and Amy Frederick of South Bend, IN; one sister, Marion Nicely of PA. He was preceded in death by his brother, J. Richard Altemose of PA.

Mr. Altemose graduated from the University of North Carolina. He developed his never-give-up attitude as a star athlete, and distinguished himself as a football and basketball player at the University where he was nominated by the All-American Basketball Board to the College All-Star Team.

He was a veteran of World War II and, as a Naval officer, he commanded the first wave of Navy landing craft carrying Marine assault troops in the invasion of Iwo Jima. He was awarded a Purple Heart after being wounded during this invasion and pinned down on the beach for five hours.

Mr. Altemose was appointed a Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) Commissioner in 1965. His mediation skills played a significant role in the peaceful settlement of labor-management negotiations, and earned him the utmost respect from labor and management in northern Indiana.

Mr. Altemose was a member of the Rotary Club, Elks Club, Grace United Methodist Church, and was a recipient of the Sagamore of the Wabash award. He was a board member of CALMR and its predecessor organization, the South Bend-Mishawaka Labor Management Commission, and was a member of the advisory committee for the annual Notre Dame Union-Management Conference.

Family and friends may call at ST. JOSEPH FUNERAL HOME, 1827 E. Ireland Road, on Thursday, June 7, 2001, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Services will be held at the Grace United Methodist Church on Friday, June 8, at 11:00 a.m. Burial will be in Southlawn Cemetery, South Bend. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.