Robert P. Feldbaumer Sr., 89, auto-repair business owner, wrestling referee

Robert P. "Dusty" Feldbaumer Sr., 89, of West Chester, who managed an auto-repair business for 40 years and refereed professional wrestling bouts for 25 years, died of heart failure Sunday, May 1, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

As owner and operator of Mina Motors in South Philadelphia, Mr. Feldbaumer was interviewed by the Philadelphia Daily News in 1982 about a change in the frequency of motor-vehicle safety inspections from semiannually to yearly. He said he was opposed to it.

"Over a 12-month period," he said, "if people don't take care of their cars they're going to have a lot more problems than people who do take care of their cars, and they're the ones who'll be hazards on the roads. Now even with a six-month period, they come in with cars in bad shape."

Mr. Feldbaumer began working at Mina in the late 1940s and bought the business in the late 1960s, when the owner, Jim Mina, retired.

It was Mina, a state wrestling commissioner, who recruited Mr. Feldbaumer to become a referee for the World Wrestling Federation.

After retiring from Mina in 1989, Mr. Feldbaumer continued to referee wrestling matches between competitors with nicknames such as "Bulldog Brower," "Little Boy Blues," "Killer Khan," and the "Haiti Kid." In a 2007 article in an online wrestling publication, a fan recalled Mr. Feldbaumer as a "skinny old guy in his 70s" who wouldn't take abuse from "any heel on the card."

Mr. Feldbaumer was born in Austria and emigrated to the United States with his parents as a toddler. He graduated from Upper Darby High School.

During World War II, he served in the Navy as an aviation machinist and a swim instructor. He met his future wife, Vonciel Hairelson, when he was stationed in Pensacola, Fla. They married in 1942 and later raised a family in Broomall.

Mr. Feldbaumer belonged to a photo club and entered his landscape images in contests. He also enjoyed woodworking and made birdhouses and decorative pieces. He spent a lot of time with his six granddaughters, a daughter Debora Cicippio said.

Mr. Feldbaumer's wife died in 2009. Besides his daughter and granddaughters, he is survived by another daughter, Mary Anne Lipton; sons Robert Jr. and Charles; and a brother.

A memorial service will be at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 5, at St. Mark's United Methodist Church, 2220 S. Sproul Rd., Broomall.

Donations may be made to the church, where Mr. Feldbaumer was an usher and a member of the finance committee.