Robert P. Schertl, 38, passed away on Monday, September 18, 2017 at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston with his mother by his side. He was born in Hudson, NY on January 9, 1979, the son of Robert and Bonnie Schertl. Born with no fear, Bobby’s life as an adventurer started at an early age. Growing up in the Catskill Mountains offered many opportunities for stand-up sledding, biking, snowboarding and discovering other means of moving at breakneck speeds. Bobby graduated from Hunter-Tannersville High School in 1997 then attended the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany, graduating in 2001 with a B.A. in Anthropology and a minor in Geology. Bobby started his career at Charlie’s Ski Shop in Windham, NY, ensuring patrons had top-notch equipment and knew the best skiing, riding and hiking in the region. He then joined the wTe Corporation (Ultrepet LLC) in Albany, NY as a lab technician where he spent over 14 years as a subject matter expert in plastics and metal recycling. Bobby’s many hobbies included refurbishing amateur radios for hilltoping and making contacts around the world through the Summits on the Air (SOTA) network (W2CKL). In 2015 he earned the coveted SOTA Mountain Goat Award, summiting and activating dozens of Catskill and Adirondack mountains. In 2016 he repeated the feat becoming the 35th person in the global SOTA organization to earn that year’s Mountain Goat Award. As of his passing, he still holds ‘last activator’ status on 39 mountains in the Catskills and Adirondacks. Bobby also spent many solitary days hiking his favorite trails as part of the Catskill Club 3500 (summer #1931 and winter #771) and the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK). An avid biker, he recently completed the Black Fly Challenge, a 40-mile gravel road race, near his favorite place in Indian Lake with a life-long friend since nursery school. For those that knew Bobby, his ability to weave a tale that hooks the unsuspecting participant will be dearly missed. Bobby was predeceased by his father Robert Schertl and is survived by his mother Bonnie Schertl and his grandmother Violet Mead, all of Hunter, NY. A memorial service will be held in the Fall in Hunter, NY. Memorial contributions in memory of Bobby may be made to The Windham Path, 4982 New York 23, Windham, NY 12496 and The Columbia-Greene Humane Society, 125 Humane Society Road, Hudson, NY 12534.
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