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1926-2016
Robert F. Jortberg
Bob Jortberg, son of Charles A. Jortberg, Jr. and Adelaide Mahoney Jortberg, was born in Portland, Maine, on February 2, 1926. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1947 and received his commission as an Ensign in the Surface Navy. His first assignment was in a destroyer, USS Robert H. McCard (DD 822). Then, upon receiving his degree in Civil Engineering from the Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, he transferred to the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps. He subsequently received a graduate degree in Industrial Management from RPI, and he completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. Bob was a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Maine and was a member of the Moles, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Society of American Military Engineers.
Bob Jortberg had a remarkable career in the United States Navy, retiring in 1979 as a Rear Admiral. He is remembered by his Navy colleagues as an accomplished engineer, as a true construction professional, and as a mentor to the many junior officers who had the privilege of knowing him. He is recalled as being highly organized, extremely thorough, deeply analytical, and a provocative, advanced thinker. He never lost touch with the Navy, and unselfishly served as a charter member of the Board of the Navy Civil Engineer Corps/Seabee Historical Foundation, where he was a key player in the initial stages of developing the new Seabee Museum.
During his early years in the Navy, e developed the “Jortberg Box” follow-up system consisting of index cards neatly arrayed in a box kept prominently on his desk. He skillfully and successfully employed this unique management system throughout his career. He received his “baptism” in the ways of Washington, DC, at the right hand of the Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks (predecessor to NAVFAC), where Bob was responsible for compiling the annual Military Construction Program for the Navy and for preparing the Chief for Congressional testimony in support of that program. His superlative performance and the unique experience and exposure he gained there kept him on a “fast track” for his career. He went on to assignments of increasing challenge and responsibility, including service as Officer in Charge of Construction in the Republic of Vietnam, Deputy for Management at the Naval Academy (a position he created and developed), Commander of the Western Division of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, and finally as Director of the Shore Facilities Programming Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon.
During this five-year Pentagon tour, Bob and his staff recognized that funding for real property maintenance (RPM) within the Navy had diminished to critically low levels following the Vietnam War. He developed a “cost of ownership” algorithm based on experience and need and deftly used this algorithm and historical charts to convince senior naval officials in Washington and in the field that RPM funding needed to be restored to realistic levels if the Navy’s shore installations were to survive. Bob’s efforts were highly successful, as the major commands became advocates, and programming and budgeting for RPM increased. A baseline for future funding for RPM in the Navy was established and is a lasting legacy of this inspirational leader and his team.
Upon his retirement from the Navy, Bob joined Lummus Construction Company where he served initially as a Senior Project Manager and worked his way up the corporate ladder. In 1986 he culminated a superlative eight-year career at Lummus as their president.
Bob Jortberg was a thinker and innovator, always seeking and advocating new approaches and concepts. He readily shared his experience and ideas with others, and thus was a “natural” for the Construction Industry Institute (CII) at the University of Texas. Bob joined CII in 1988 as Associate Director, a position in which he served with distinction for ten years. He also served as a Senior Lecturer in the Civil Engineering Department at the University, where he was honored in 1992 with the establishment of the Robert F. Jortberg Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Engineering.
Following his service at CII, Bob remained active in the engineering and construction industries, providing consulting services to both owners and contractor organizations in the areas of strategic project planning, project management, and risk management. He served as Chairman of the Building Research Board Committee on Maintenance and Repair of Public Buildings, publishing a report “Committing to the Cost of Ownership”. He also was a member of the Project Management Committee of the Federal Facilities Council. In 2003, he was awarded the Navy Superior Service Award for his service on a panel appointed by the Secretary of the Navy to recommend actions to improve facilities management in the Navy.
It came as no surprise when Bob Jortberg was named a Founding Member of the National Academy of Construction, where he remained an active contributor until his passing. Throughout his tenure in NAC, he personified his induction statement: “Leadership in industry progress through naval service, the private sector, the Construction Industry Institute, and continuing education”.
Bob was preceded in death by his beloved wife Kathy, daughter Anna Velasco, and great-grandson Aaron Monroy. He is survived by son Robert Francis, Jr., daughter Christina Harwell, eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. His counsel, guidance, and leadership will be sorely missed by his family and his colleagues. He truly epitomized the term “an officer and a gentleman”.
-Art Fort, 2016
Bob Jortberg had a remarkable career in the United States Navy, retiring in 1979 as a Rear Admiral. He is remembered by his Navy colleagues as an accomplished engineer, as a true construction professional, and as a mentor to the many junior officers who had the privilege of knowing him. He is recalled as being highly organized, extremely thorough, deeply analytical, and a provocative, advanced thinker. He never lost touch with the Navy, and unselfishly served as a charter member of the Board of the Navy Civil Engineer Corps/Seabee Historical Foundation, where he was a key player in the initial stages of developing the new Seabee Museum.
During his early years in the Navy, e developed the “Jortberg Box” follow-up system consisting of index cards neatly arrayed in a box kept prominently on his desk. He skillfully and successfully employed this unique management system throughout his career. He received his “baptism” in the ways of Washington, DC, at the right hand of the Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks (predecessor to NAVFAC), where Bob was responsible for compiling the annual Military Construction Program for the Navy and for preparing the Chief for Congressional testimony in support of that program. His superlative performance and the unique experience and exposure he gained there kept him on a “fast track” for his career. He went on to assignments of increasing challenge and responsibility, including service as Officer in Charge of Construction in the Republic of Vietnam, Deputy for Management at the Naval Academy (a position he created and developed), Commander of the Western Division of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, and finally as Director of the Shore Facilities Programming Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon.
During this five-year Pentagon tour, Bob and his staff recognized that funding for real property maintenance (RPM) within the Navy had diminished to critically low levels following the Vietnam War. He developed a “cost of ownership” algorithm based on experience and need and deftly used this algorithm and historical charts to convince senior naval officials in Washington and in the field that RPM funding needed to be restored to realistic levels if the Navy’s shore installations were to survive. Bob’s efforts were highly successful, as the major commands became advocates, and programming and budgeting for RPM increased. A baseline for future funding for RPM in the Navy was established and is a lasting legacy of this inspirational leader and his team.
Upon his retirement from the Navy, Bob joined Lummus Construction Company where he served initially as a Senior Project Manager and worked his way up the corporate ladder. In 1986 he culminated a superlative eight-year career at Lummus as their president.
Bob Jortberg was a thinker and innovator, always seeking and advocating new approaches and concepts. He readily shared his experience and ideas with others, and thus was a “natural” for the Construction Industry Institute (CII) at the University of Texas. Bob joined CII in 1988 as Associate Director, a position in which he served with distinction for ten years. He also served as a Senior Lecturer in the Civil Engineering Department at the University, where he was honored in 1992 with the establishment of the Robert F. Jortberg Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Engineering.
Following his service at CII, Bob remained active in the engineering and construction industries, providing consulting services to both owners and contractor organizations in the areas of strategic project planning, project management, and risk management. He served as Chairman of the Building Research Board Committee on Maintenance and Repair of Public Buildings, publishing a report “Committing to the Cost of Ownership”. He also was a member of the Project Management Committee of the Federal Facilities Council. In 2003, he was awarded the Navy Superior Service Award for his service on a panel appointed by the Secretary of the Navy to recommend actions to improve facilities management in the Navy.
It came as no surprise when Bob Jortberg was named a Founding Member of the National Academy of Construction, where he remained an active contributor until his passing. Throughout his tenure in NAC, he personified his induction statement: “Leadership in industry progress through naval service, the private sector, the Construction Industry Institute, and continuing education”.
Bob was preceded in death by his beloved wife Kathy, daughter Anna Velasco, and great-grandson Aaron Monroy. He is survived by son Robert Francis, Jr., daughter Christina Harwell, eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. His counsel, guidance, and leadership will be sorely missed by his family and his colleagues. He truly epitomized the term “an officer and a gentleman”.
-Art Fort, 2016
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