Robert W. Beitler, 70, of Allentown, died April 11, 2013, in Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township.

He was the loving husband of Janet "Jenny" (Eckert) McQuillan.

They found each other after they both lost their spouses.

They were partners for 12 years, marrying at a small service June 19, 2008, in Cape May, N.J.

Born March 25, 1943, in Laurys Station, he was a son of the late George W. Sr. and Eva J. (Hawk) Beitler.

In 1999, he was predeceased by his wife of 33 years, Renee G. (Schmid) Beitler.

A 62-year resident of Schnecksville, he graduated from Parkland High School in 1961, where he was greatly influenced by his art teacher, William Swallow.

He graduated from Kutztown University in 1965, where he was named to Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities, and returned to Parkland to begin teaching that same year.

While teaching full time, he continued his studies and earned his Master's Degree from Kutztown in 1968.

While at Parkland, he was named to Who's Who Among American High School Teachers.

In his lifetime, he has painted more than 2,000 works and was well known for his renderings created with oil paints on unique surfaces such as antique milk cans, copper enamel jewelry, wooden bowls and cutting boards, as well as the more conventional stretched canvas.

A life-long teacher, he retired in 1999, after teaching high school, community college and adult education students for more than 33 years.

He was famous for his compliment/critique teaching style, offering his students compliments on multiple parts of their artwork, but then asking them "What do you think you could do differently with this area?"

This allowed them to self-reflect on their work, before he offered suggestions on how they could improve their art.

He was a life member of Parkland Community Library and formerly served as a member of the Board of Directors of Neffs Bancorp Inc. and its subsidiary, The Neffs National Bank.

While he was a director, he always made sure that the lobby of the bank contained beautiful flower arrangements to welcome bank patrons.

He was a member of the Union United Church of Christ, Neffs.

During his lifetime, he created numerous pieces of artwork depicting Neffs Church, of which a notable pen and ink drawing of the church has regularly been used on the church bulletin covers.

He was also a member of the Upper Lehigh Lions Club and Schnecksville Grange 1684.

There were many years when he used his artistic ability to help the Schnecksville Grange win grange display contests at The Great Allentown Fair.

Every week, he enjoyed spending time with his family, especially their Wednesday night dinners, where everyone could catch up on their activities of the past week.

Throughout his life, he loved to bake and use his artistic ability to decorate birthday cakes for his family and friends.

During his retirement, he learned the skill of delegation and would provide the bakers at Bakery Nook in Whitehall with elaborate instructions of his vision for the decoration of the wonderful cakes he ordered from them.

He also loved to travel, whether it be a quick weekend trip to the camper at the Jersey Shore or a longer excursion to the island of Culebra.

He enjoyed visiting Walt Disney World, Florida, Mexico, Smoke Lake in Canada, Puerto Rico, Alaska, Hawaii, South Carolina, as well as his last trip to Dickins Days in Wellsboro.

He was a regular fixture at the Froggy Lilly Pad game at the Disney Boardwalk Resort, where he loved to win prizes at the game he mastered and give them to children who were passing by, just so he could see them smile.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by sons Michael J. and his fiancé, Vanessa Viehe, of Grape-vine, Texas, and Matthew T. and his wife, JoDe (Hendrick), of Prospect Park; daughter, Jennifer L., wife of Eric M. Jewell of Hamilton, Va.; stepson Robert F. McQuillan and his wife, Suzanne M. (Vajda) of Allentown; stepdaughter Susan J . (McQuillan) wife of Daniel D. Cressman, of Allentown; brother George W. Beitler, Jr. and his wife, Louise, of Macungie; grandchildren Brooke, Corey, Caitlin, Isabella, Zayne, Dustin, Amber, Amanda, Ashley, Tyler and Allison; and great-grandchildren Madison and Mason.

Expressions of sympathy may be recorded at heintzelmancares.com.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Lehigh County Humane Society c/o the funeral home, P.O. Box 196, Schnecksville, PA 18078-0196.

Arrangements made by Heintzelman Funeral Home Inc., Schnecksville.