Robert H. Draffen

Petersburgh – Robert H. Draffen, 77, of Armsby Road, Petersburgh, NY, died on Saturday, March 27, 2010, at his residence surrounded by his loving family, under the care of Community Hospice of Rensselaer County.
Born in Gloversville, NY, on July 2, 1932, Bob was the son of the late Russell J. and Helen Weaver Draffen. He was the loving husband of the former Antoinette Ives, whom he married in Schenectady, NY, on December 29, 1953. They resided there before moving to the New Paltz, NY, area in 1959. Bob and Ann have been residents of Petersburgh since 1995 and members of the Berlin United Methodist Church.
He graduated from Mt. Pleasant Technical High School in 1953, was a G.E Apprentice graduate as a design draftsman and studied Art Education at SUNY New Paltz. Bob had over 55 years experience in the advertising and commercial markets as a Senior Tool Designer. In Ulster County he worked with various companies throughout the years including Virtis, FTS Systems, Rotron and others. After moving to Petersburgh, he worked under contract for NASTECH in Bennington, VT, and Atlantis Equipment Corp. in Stephentown, NY.
Bob was a gifted artist, painting and sculpting in all media. In 1964 he showed his kinetic wood sculpture in NYC with other notables. Also in the 1960s he began painting with wax encaustic and for the rest of his life that was his primary medium, resulting in a one-man show at the Queens Museum in NYC. His inventive and creative mind knew no limits and led him to building and painting encaustic surfaced sculptural columns. His works have been shown in galleries and museums throughout the country and are owned by museums and private collectors in Europe, Canada and the United States.
Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Ann, his children, Jeffrey P. Draffen of West Kill, NY, Sheryl Draffen and her fiance Charles Bogie of New Milford, CT, and Eric Draffen and his wife Crystal of Shokan, NY, a brother, Jack W. Draffen and his wife Barbara of Northville, NY, grandchildren, Forest, Fawn, Brent, Hope, Bianca, Dustin and Juliet, and great-grandchildren, Cody and Beah. He was pre-deceased by a grandson, Luke Draffen.
To his family and friends, Bob was a unique individual, not only an accomplished artist, a lover of music with an innate curiosity of the universe but also an inventive genius with wisdom and intelligence. He was a most loving, generous and compassionate person. Life with Bob was always an adventure.
The funeral service and calling hours were held on Friday, April 2, in the Thomas M. Barber Funeral Home in Petersburgh where many of Bob’s sculptures and paintings were on display. Memorial contributions in his memory may be made to the Community Hospice of Rensselaer County or to your local food bank.