Long-time Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) member and TMC Silver Spark Plug Robert E. Wessels died on Thursday, July 25, 2024, at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 81 years old.
Wessels, of Big Sandy, Tennessee, was born on April 11, 1943, in Memphis to the late Ernest Wessels and the late Anna Kate Marion Wessels. He was married to Eileen (Ambrust) Wessels, who also is a TMC Silver Spark Plug (1998) and Recognized Associate.
Wessels earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 1966. He was employed by Caterpillar Engine Company in various capacities from 1970 to 2006, responsible for service engineering, product development, and engine sales/marketing. He remained active as an industry consultant from 2007 to 2013. He and his wife, Elieen, remained active within TMC into their retirement, serving as volunteers at TMC’s Welcome Desk.
Wessels joined the Council’s predecessor organization — the Maintenance Committee of the Regular Common Carrier Conference — in 1976. He was a RCCC-MC/TMC member for nearly 40 years. He was very active in the Council’s S.3 Engine and S.11 Sustainability & Environmental Technologies Study Groups, as well as the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). He was one of several individuals who were instrumental in the development of the trucking industry’s fuel economy methodology standards — the Types II, III and IV Fuel Economy Test Procedures — which were developed in the 1980s and 1990s, and adopted as TMC Recommended Practices RP 1102, 1103 and 1109.
He served as chairman of several task forces including the Fuel Economy Basics Task Force which developed TMC RP 1111, “Relationships Between Truck Components and Fuel Economy.” His contributions to technical session presentations, recommended practices, information reports and position papers within TMC were substantial, and he was awarded the Council’s highest honor — The Silver Spark Plug — in 1991. He was previously recognized as a TMC Recognized Associate as well.
Wessels was elected to TMC’s Board of Directors in 1995 and served a two-year term. He was elected as a TMC Officer and served as Chairman of Associates from 1996 to 1997.
“Bob could make you cry as well as laugh,” TMC colleague and Silver Spark Plug Chuck Blake said. “He was persistent with perfection on the TMC fuel economy comparison tests, always trying to get that yellow engine in the winner’s circle. As tough a competitor as Bob was, he never let his allegiance get in the way of our friendship. I met and worked with a lot of gentlemen in our industry, and Bob was one of the best.”
Visitation with the family will be held on Saturday, August 3, 2024, from 10 a.m. to Noon at Stockdale-Malin Funeral Home in Big Sandy.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, August 3, 2024, at Noon at Stockdale-Malin Funeral Home Chapel in Big Sandy with Bro. Kenny Louden officiating. Burial will follow in the Ramble Creek Cemetery.
