September 14, 1933 - June 11, 2025
Norfolk, Massachusetts - Robert J. Valle, age 91, passed away on June 11 at a local Hospice care facility. Bob was the son of Robert P. Valle and Mary (Maffei) Valle, both from the Tyrol region of Austria, and was the husband of the late Gilberte (Thibault) Valle for 60 years.
He was a graduate of Newton Trade High School and took postgraduate courses at Wentworth Institute and worked full time and part time for 10 years as an experimental machinist for the Harry Wolff Machine Co. in Auburndale, MA.
Bob received his B.S. in Industrial Management from Boston University in 1960, married his beloved wife Gerrie, and accepted a position with the Allis-Chalmers Co. in Boston as a Systems Analyst. Bob continued his education with advanced management classes at A-C West in Allis, WI., and completed several computer science workshop classes with the IBM Co. in Endicott and Poughkeepsie NY. Additionally he completed computer programming with advanced hardware technology courses at the IBM Education Center in Boston.
When Allis-Chalmers announced a plan in 1967 to relocate that Boston plant to Gadsden AL., Bob was the Systems and Data Processing Manager, responsible for all the plant business systems. Not wanting to move, Bob accepted a Senior Systems Analyst position with the Raytheon Co. of Waltham, MA.
In 1969, the Howard Johnson Co. needed a systems specialist, so Bob joined a group in Braintree, MA. to help develop an inventory and production control system. Working with programming and operations, Bob developed and implemented a reporting system that provided up-to-date information for the many plants and distribution centers in New England and across the U.S. Later, Bob accepted an operations position, eventually becoming the Warehouse and Distribution Manager in Brockton, MA. When Howard Johnson Co. decided to sell out and close in 1981, Bob moved on and for the next several years he helped the Rykoff-Sexton Co. at their food distribution center in Norwood, MA.
Bob retired from day-to-day work in 1988 and took up his hobbies doing woodworking and house maintenance. During his spare time, he became the trustee for several trusts, which he managed, liquidated, and distributed according to the trust rules.
Bob and Gerrie took some long road trips and spent winters in Florida, first living on the East coast and later moving to the Gulf coast. When Gerrie passed in 2019, Bob continued to keep his condo in Norfolk, MA, but spent most of his time in Ellenton, FL.
Bob leaves two brothers, Dennis and Richard, and many cousins, nieces and nephews here and in the Tyrol. He will be interned and join his wife in St. Francis Cemetery in South Walpole, MA.
Donations may be sent to: Boston Med Flight, 150 Hanscom Drive, Bedford, MA 01730.
