Date of death: 1/6/2011
Saint Meinrad Class: O 1950
Comte, Sr. was the owner and vice president of the 120-year-old construction company founded by his grandfather, and he died at the Waterford at Levis Commons, Perrysburg, of complications from diabetes. He was 85.Mr. Comte of South Toledo worked a reduced schedule in the latter years of his career. He retired in February, 2009.He loved to go to work and be involved,” his daughter Carol Keller said.Comte Construction, started by his grandfather Julius, built such landmarks as the clubhouse at the Inverness Club, Gesu Church and School, and Notre Dame Academy, and has erected structures on the campuses of Bowling Green State University and the University of Toledo.Comte Construction changed the landscape, he used to say, and he took pride in “making a difference in the city of Toledo,” said his son, Robert, Jr., the firm’s president. He was pleased that his son ‘ another generation ‘ took over and that grandson Craig “is the fifth generation coming up,” Mr. Comte, Jr., said.Mr. Comte started at Comte about 1968, after the death of his father, William, Sr., and shared ownership with his brothers, the late William, Jr., and the late Frank.Mr. Comte, a University of Toledo graduate, was an accountant for more than a decade with the estate of Edward Drummond Libbey, making sure that gains from its properties went to the Toledo Museum of Art. He later worked about a year for Prescott & Co., a stock brokerage.He was born March 8, 1925, in Toledo. He was a graduate of Central Catholic High School, where he was on the basketball team. He was a Navy veteran and was in Japan after World War II.He and his wife belonged to Heather Downs Country Club, where they golfed with their many friends. They’d traveled much of the country and vacationed in Europe.He liked to tell silly jokes ‘ groaners, really, his daughter said ‘ and, with his affinity for numbers, made a point of asking a restaurant’s seating capacity or a hospital’s occupancy.He married Margaret “Marge” Sweeney Nov. 25, 1948. She died March 20, 2010.Surviving are his daughters, Carol Keller, Mary Lynn Hope, and Barbara Gail, son, Robert Comte, Jr., 10 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.The funeral took place in St. Patrick of Heatherdowns Church, where he was a member.The family suggested tributes to the American Diabetes Association, Alexandria, Va.; Central Catholic High School, or St. Patrick of Heather downs.