Robert A. Schlote | Lay minister, 75

Robert Allen Schlote, 75, of Wayne, a retired printing sales representative and lay minister of Jehovah's Witnesses, died of septic shock Dec. 6 at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

Mr. Schlote was born in Cleveland. After graduation from Maple Heights High School in 1952, he moved to Henderson, N.C., where he served as a Witnesses lay minister.

In 1959 he accepted an invitation to work at the headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses in Brooklyn, N.Y. In 1962 he gave a Bible lecture in Ardmore, where he met Joan Domenick. The two married in 1963 and were asked to serve a congregation in Wayne. Mr. Schlote was an elder and gave Bible talks at Jehovah's Witness meetings in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Mr. Schlote worked as a sales agent for Western & Southern Life Insurance Co. for 18 years. He then worked as a salesman for Heritage Business Forms, which became Vanguard Direct. He retired in January 2008.

Mr. Schlote and his wife enjoyed visits to his in-laws' home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He collected old-time radio shows and loved watching the Phillies.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Vicki Lynn Comfort and two sisters.

A memorial service will be at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow at the West Chester Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1200 Phoenixville Pike, West Chester. Friends many call from 1:15 to 3:15 p.m.

Memorial donations may go to the Wayne Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, 163 Conestoga Rd., Wayne, Pa. 19087.