A Requiem Mass for Mr. Robert C. Hochel will be celebrated by Fr. Gregory Wilson at 10am on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 at St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church. Honorary pallbearers will be the ushers and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion from the 11:15 Mass and members of Knights of Columbus Council #3684. The family will receive friends on Monday evening, 6-8pm at GEORGE FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION CENTER, 211 Park Ave. SW. Aiken, SC. Robert Hochel, 68, died at home surrounded by his family on December 14, 2012. Robert was born October 10, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois to the late Frances and Eddie Hochel. He grew up in Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana with a bachelor's degree in Chemistry. Then he worked for a year at the Babcox and Wilcox Nuclear Fuels Laboratory in Lynchburg, Virginia before going to graduate school. In 1973, he received his doctorate of science degree in nuclear chemistry from Purdue University and began his career at the Savannah River National Laboratory and retired in 2006 from the Laboratory as an Advisory Scientist. He specialized in nuclear material measurement techniques and authored a number of publications particularly on methods for characterization of various kinds of radioactive waste. Dr. Hochel was a communicant of St. Mary Help of Christians Church, where he served for many years as an Usher and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. He was a long-time member of the Knights of Columbus Council 3684 where he served in various leadership roles. At different times during his 39 years in Aiken, he was active in other organizations including the Aiken International Club, Aiken Outdoors, and the Audubon Society. Also through the years, he was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels, Augusta Soup Kitchen, local nursing homes, Habitat for Humanity and other charitable organizations. Bob enjoyed spending time with his family, traveling, hiking and bird watching. He and his wife were able to travel extensively around the world learning about flora, fauna, people and cultures and promoting a respect for all races and religions. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by a brother, Ronald Paul Hochel, Algonquin, IL. Robert was the husband of Sandra Hochel for 43 years; father of two daughters, Robin Hochel of Atlanta, Georgia and Ryan Hochel Atkinson of Raleigh, North Carolina and grandfather to Emi Hochel Iwamoto and Connor Atkinson. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to may be directed to Meals on Wheels, PO Box 3156 Aiken, SC 29802-3156 or The Silver Bluff Audobon Center 4542 Silver Bluff Rd. Jackson, SC 29831