Robert E. Baumberger, 88, formerly of Evanston, died Wednesday of congestive heart failure in Fraser Health Center in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Mr. Baumberger spent nearly two decades as a city manager for municipalities from Ludlow, Vt., to Mill Valley, Calif., before joining the Point Four federal program in 1956. He spent the next five years helping cities in Ethiopia and Iran modernize their operations. Mr. Baumberger moved to Evanston in 1962 to work for the consulting firm J.L. Jacobs Co. He conducted a reorganization of the Chicago Park District and streamlined the city’s waste collection process before retiring to Hilton Head Island in 1978. “He never stopped thinking about how to improve things in the community around him,” said his daughter, Linda Behling. “He was even planning how to rewire the retirement community he lived in.” Other survivors include his wife of 61 years, Martha; two sons, Roger and Bruce; another daughter, Barbara Crane; a sister, Ruth DeCosted; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A memorial service is set for Saturday in Hilton Head.
