Obituary of Robert George Hajovsky

Robert George Hajovsky, 78, passed away Wednesday, January 23, 2019, at Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth after an ongoing courageous bout with heart disease.Born August 19, 1940, in La Grange, Texas, Bob was the son of George August Hajovsky and Gertrude Wieting Hajovsky, but he and his two sisters were also raised by his grandparents, Gerard and Annie Wieting, on their homestead at Rabbs Prairie. He graduated from La Grange High School in 1958. He went on to receive Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering at The University of Texas in Austin in 1963 and 1965 respectively. As an outcome of his dissertation work on the effects of insects and aerosols on radar cross sections and microwave signals that is cited in countless studies since that time, he became respectively known as the “Bug Man”. In recognition of his academic excellence, he was a member of Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi national engineering honor societies.The most enjoyable times in his life were spending his younger years growing up on his grandparent’s farm on the Colorado River, helping raise his four sons with his beloved wife, and working with the men and women on an F-22 program CNI Integrated Product Team at Lockheed Martin company in Fort Worth.Bob and Beverly Knight married in June 1963 and moved to Phoenix, Arizona area where he worked for Goodyear Aerospace Corporation in the development of advanced radar systems. In August 1964, Bob and Beverly returned to Austin, Texas to finish his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering degree. In June 1965, General Dynamics in Fort Worth hired Bob due to his solid academic standing and a strong background in radar systems. He was hired primarily to work on the F-111, where he excelled in development and testing. In July of 1973, he branched out with three other engineers to start AVM Systems, a company that developed command and control systems for transit, mining companies, and police departments in the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Australia. In January 1986, Bob rejoined General Dynamics, later Lockheed Martin, where he worked until his retirement in 2001. The latter part of his career was primarily spent with the development and flight tests of F-22 avionics and the start of the F-35 development. During his career at General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin, he worked on the F-111, F-16, and F-22 aircraft avionics development and flight tests, as well as on several Special Projects programs.Bob was a devoted husband, father, brother and son who enjoyed a number of pursuits that were shared as a family. He and Beverly had four sons who they nurtured and enjoyed immensely as they grew up. The Hajovsky family was heavily involved in their sons’ innumerable activities, especially soccer. A lifelong lover of sports and a dedicated Orangeblood and Cowboy fan, hardly a weekend went by that he didn’t enjoy watching sports. Fishing and hunting were Bob’s primary outdoor interests his entire life and he had a fondness for wildlife and beautiful places. Bird watching became a passion of his in his later years, and he relished attending to their needs as he invited them into the backyard and photographed them. After retirement, Bob and Beverly traveled internationally to places such as Machu Picchu (Peru), Angkor Wat (Cambodia), Costa Rica, and Bali (Indonesia), and did several tours of national parks in California and the Southwest United States. He and Beverly spent considerable time maintaining and appreciating the family properties in Odem and Port Bolivar, Texas, and Clinton, Arkansas.Bob is survived by his wife, Beverly Jane Knight Hajovsky; his sons Christopher Keith, Charles Kevin, Brian Adam, and Richard Clifton; and four grandchildren Jade, Kali, Eva, and Kayden. He is also survived by his two sisters Nancy Winkler of Kingsland, Texas and Gertrude “Trudy” Hilliard of San Marcos, Texas.