August 1, 1936 - February 10, 2025

From Bob Kennington:

Bob Santacroce was Chief of the Range Systems Branch during my time as Range Division Chief. He was in charge of the Cine-T and radar operations. He retired before the advent of GPS essentially made Cine-T and radar operations obsolete.

From:  (20+) Robert (Bob) Ralph Santa Croce, age 88,... - Palm Valley Funeral Home | Facebook

Robert (Bob) Ralph Santa Croce, age 88, passed away peacefully on February 10, 2025 in Sun City, AZ, with family at his bedside.

Born on August 1, 1936 in Staten Island, New York, Bob was the second born child to Ralph and Margaret Santa Croce. While young, his family moved to Brooklyn, NY, where he remained until he enlisted into the United States Air Force in 1954.

After enlisting, he was stationed in Orlando, Florida, where he met the love of his life, Lorene Johnson. Shortly after, they knew they wanted to spend their lives together, and became engaged to be married. Bob then returned to service out west, while Lorene remained in Florida. After spending 8 long months without his bride to be, Bob returned, and he and Lorene were married on July 24,1957 in Georgia. The newlyweds returned to California to begin their lives together, and eventually start a family. They had three children together, a girl and two boys. Bernice was the first born in 1960, then Steven in 1967 and last, Kevin in 1968.

Bob had a long and distinguished career in civil service, where he became the chief supervisor of the Range Systems Branch at Edwards Air Force Base, where he was ultimately responsible for nearly all TSPI (Time, Space, Position Information) radar support provided for flight project testing. Most notably, he contributed significantly to the successful testing of the following military aircraft, among others: SR71, U2, A-10, F-104, F-15, F-111, F4, F5, B-1A, B-1B, B-2, F-117, YF-22 and numerous remotely piloted vehicles and drones. His hard work and merit was acknowledged by a Letter of Recognition by President Bill Clinton.

Beyond his professional life, Bob had a passion for the outdoors that he loved sharing with his family, taking them to numerous national parks, where they hiked, explored and admired nature. He enjoyed baseball, growing up as an avid Yankees fan, and even shared his love of the sport with his boys, coaching them in Little League. He also loved cars and racing, and witnessed the beginning of Nascar by attending the early races on the beach in Daytona Beach, FL. He was also a collector of many things, including coins, stamps, baseball cards, poker chips and his beloved Lionel trains. He also enjoyed photography. He shared many of his hobbies and passions with his children and grandchildren, whom he loved to spend time with in his retirement. He and Lorene would often travel cross-country, between their homes in the west in California, and eventually Sun City, Arizona, and Daytona, Florida in the east, spending time with family on both coasts.

Bob is preceded in death by his parents and sisters Margaret and Joan. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Lorene, daughter Bernice, sons Steven and Kevin, daughter-in-laws Lisa and Maryam, eight grandchildren, two great grandchildren, siblings Judy and Ralph and several nieces and nephews.