Robert Joseph Wachter - "Bat" - passed peacefully at the age of 71 holding hands with his Wife (only one ever) and Daughter (only one that we know about) on March 8th 2022.

Bat was many things - while being only a small part of many lives, he was a gigantic part of even more.

He was a painter, not one that dabbed on bricks and wood - but an artist, and for his age he was rated pretty good.

Just kidding

But if those words sounded vaguely familiar to you, you knew Bat… or at the very least,  you were around him one of the million times he recited the 6 minute poem "Face on the Bar Room Floor"  he memorized… and made his daughter memorize …which made the woman he married fall deeply in love with him, even after his heyday.

In his heyday - he was a younger brother to Billy and Teddy, and an amazing son to his mother Helen. He graduated Roxbury High School in 1968 and it has been said that he had done so many great things for others, we cannot even begin to count them. He built a dock (Deep Hole) for the kids in town so they had somewhere to go, he bought things for people in need without being asked, and those who needed defending - came to find him - because he was the one they could count on.

He was an entrepreneur - running and owning businesses before, during, and after working hours. Most notably BW Construction Co, The Westmoreland, and allegedly he was a major firework supplier to the residents (both in the public and private sector) of Northwest New Jersey.

Besides the construction company and the bar, he had a garage where people could fix their cars or get them fixed, a gym where people could get fit - or hang around and take pictures of themselves in mirrors, and a house where everyone felt welcome – somewhere they could stay when they needed a place to lay their head.

Bob employed A LOT of people… even though he was not always sure what they did. Some did construction, some worked on cars, some worked at the bar, some did "odds and ends", and some joined him when he took his daughter to an amusement park while telling her they were both related to the Pope (also that said employee was a Gladiator, an Astronaut, and a fighter pilot during the Civil War).

At the end of the day, all of these people were able to put food on the table for their families.

More on the subject of food, in his heyday he had a lot of animals to feed. A ton of dogs (most of them named Sheba), a cat that he named "little-boy" (potentially due to a lack of creativity), a bunch of ducks, a rabbit, and two horses  (Moon Shine and Sun Shine) who resided between the bridges. Later in life he always had a dog and a lot of cats thanks to his beautiful bride.

Bat was a buyer and seller of "things". From weights, to cars, to fireworks (allegedly), other things with a larger profit margin (allegedly) and everything inside of a storage facility – before it was a trend you could watch on TV.

In addition to buying and selling - he was also a collector of things that didn't have a home because others had not yet seen their value (potentially because no one wanted them or they were broken, but that is neither here nor there).

In 2013, Bob met his wife Spring while he was living in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Spring saw the best in him, ignored all the red flags, moved up to Sebastian so Bat had a place to keep all of his belongings, and took excellent care of him after becoming very sick in February of 2021.

The legend of Port Morris lived every day as if it was his last. He was an amazing father and husband, but above all else he was a spectacular friend. If you needed anything - he had it - and If he didn't have it he would find it. Once he found it, he would let you take it… along with the shirt off of his back - because that's the kind of guy he was.

Robert is survived by his wife Spring Raulerson Wachter; daughter, Taryn Fonticiella (William); granddaughter, Olivia Fonticiella; son, John Melicharek (Dale); step-children, Denise Cook (Joe), and Lauren Peavler (Flip); Sister in-law Rayna Gardner (Gregory); cousin Rich Baewic; many nieces and nephews including: Heather Wachter Barnette, Theodore Wachter, Billy Wachter, Andrew Wachter, Sonny Kruger, Dee Kruger, Elizabeth McGettigan and Grant Gardner; his best friends Art Boyle, Walt Bell & Phil Goduto. He was preceded in death by his mother, Helen Baewic Wachter (1988); brothers, Billy Wachter and Teddy Wachter; and many close friends who meant so much to him.

Visitation will be held at Seawinds Funeral Home located at 735 S. Fleming Street, Sebastian, Florida 32958 on Saturday March 19, 2022 at 11AM, services will follow at 1PM at Sebastian City Cemetery, 1921 N. Central Avenue, Sebastian, Florida 32958.

Special thanks goes out to the Doctors and Nurses who tended the ICU at Sebastian River Medical Center for bringing him back to life on multiple occasions, so he could live his final months with purpose.