Robert I. Kabat 1926-2010

Robert I. Kabat, 84, an official in the worldwide rural electrical cooperative movement, died Feb. 10 of
complications from aplastic anemia and pneumonia at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital. He lived in the Hollin
Hills area of Fairfax County. Mr. Kabat worked from 1953 to 1997 at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, where he founded and led its management services program. Inthe early 1960s, he led the association's international program, which helped bring electricity to portions of Latin America and Asia. He launched university-based training courses for co-op managers, a program that was named for him upon his retirement. Robert Ivan Kabat was born in Somerset, Pa. He graduated in 1949 from Oberlin College in Ohio. He served in the Merchant Marine during World War II and graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1946. In retirement, he was an adviser to the boards of CARE, the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumers League and the Cooperative Development Foundation. In 2005, he was inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame. Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Lois "Sandy" Kabat of Fairfax; three daughters, Ellen Kabat of Herndon, Gale Kabat of Annandale and Jennifer Kabat of Margaretville, N.Y.; a sister, Dorothy Kirby of Washington; and a grandson.

-- Patricia Sullivan