Robert Wright Ashbrook, 85, a devoted husband and father, homebuilder and resident of Allentown, died July 2, 2016. He was the husband of Linda Ashbrook. They were married 61 years. Born in Columbus, Ohio, he was the son of Byron Baldwin Ashbrook and Helen Wright Ashbrook.

He attended Newark, Ohio public schools and graduated from Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio. He attended Williams College and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Ohio State University in 1955 and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Stanford University in 1957.

He served in the Korean War as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Special Forces.

He began his career as a homebuilder, developer and Realtor working for his brother-in-law Robert McCann’s home building business in Allentown in 1957. He went on to found several construction and real estate companies, including Brookhaven Residential Sales in 1959, Sterling Homes in 1970 and Brookhaven Realty in 1973, which he ran before stepping back from day-to-day management in 1994. Over his career, he employed hundreds of people and built over 3,000 custom homes in the Lehigh Valley and central New Jersey, including the developments of Brookhaven, Meadowbrook, Millbrook Farms, Fox Run and Buckingham Place in Salisbury and Lower Macungie townships in Lehigh County.

He was a lifelong runner, private pilot, world traveler and avid golfer.

He is survived by his wife; two sons, Robert Jr., of Wallingford and John, of Montclair, N.J.; their wives; five grandchildren; sister, Elizabeth McCann, of Gladwyne. He was predeceased by two brothers.

Contributions may be made to the church or to Newark, Ohio-based A Call to College at www.acalltocollege.org.

A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. July 16 in the chapel at the First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, 3231 West Tilghman St.

Arrangements were made by the J.S. Burkholder Funeral Home, Allentown.