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Robert W. Soergel

Robert W. Soergel died on Jan. 20 at his home in Saratoga. He was 80.

Soergel was born in Buffalo, N.Y. At 17, he enlisted in the Navy and was trained as a cargo and transport pilot. He was a pilot in World War II and the Korean War and flew coal, flour and injured soldiers in the historic Berlin Airlift.

After leaving the Navy, Soergel went on to fly for Capitol Airlines, which later became United Airlines, and settled in Saratoga with his family in 1967. He retired second out of 6,000 pilots in 1986 as a 747 captain. In his 41-year career with the airline, he flew more than 3 million passengers.

Soergel was also a private pilot and enjoyed many hours of restoring and flying his Cessna 140 Taildragger.

In his spare time, Soergel was an avid gardener and was known for his homegrown vegetables and his prize-winning dried apricots.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Phyllis; his sons Rich of San Diego and Rob of Saratoga; his daughter Sandy Hernandez and her husband Thomas of Santa Rosa; his grandchildren Olivia and Parker Hernandez; his brother John Soergel and his wife Shirley of Syracuse, N.Y.; his niece Nancy Soergel; and his nephew David Soergel.

A service to celebrate Soergel's life will be held on Feb. 10 at Saratoga Federated Church at 20390 Park Place.

Donations in his memory may be sent to Hospice of the Valley or the American Cancer Society.