Kathy

When Bob was 10, Pat was 9 and I was 12, our older brother Tim lived in Manhattan in an 8th floor apt that overlooked Riverside Park and the Hudson River. He brought us out to visit him for a month or so in the summers, a few years in a row. One year our parents visited for a bit. One year Mary and Tom visited a bit, our younger siblings. We had so many fun and interesting adventures; everyday was something different and exciting.

When Tim was at work, he would give us a little money and help us choose a destination or event for that day. We took out the subway map and figured out our route, packed a lunch, and off we went. As siblings we had to stick together to maneuver through that big city, facing challenges together. Chinatown, Central Park, Riverside Park – just below our apt, Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum, the CLoisters, Rockaway Beach, Coney Island, Times Square, Midtown. Then there was the foreign film house where we saw lots of Japanese and French movies.For apartment adventures, Bob and Pat got a library book on how to make paper airplanes and experimented with flying the airplanes out the 8th floor apartment. Bob of course had to innovate and change the design to give the planes more lift. That kept them out of trouble and having a good time for at least 3 days. I can still hear them laughing.I think I can speak for all of us and say, our visits to NYC were a significant experience that none of us ever forgot and that helped shaped our adult lives.

I loved to visit Bob and Connie in the summertime. The first thing Bob would do is give you a tour of his gardens. He was so proud and excited about all the plantings that he was nurturing along that year and some for many years. His flowers were just gorgeous–a special bed planted for Connie for cutting flowers. Vegetables always healthier, more organized and lush than any others you’d see. His chive plant is amazing–I’ve never seen one that large! What a beautiful yard with the trees and flowers and gardens!

That reminds me of the maple seed Bob planted at our house in Green Bay when he was a youngster. He tended that seed that turned to a seedling and a little tree. Today it still stands as a majestic sugar maple.

A few years ago one June I visited my Mom and John in Milwaukee and shortly after arriving became quickly and severely ill. John took me to the emergency room. While at the emergency room I got steadily worse and they didn’t know what was wrong with me. I had Mom and John call Bob. Bob and Connie came over to the hospital immediately and stayed with me, working with the doctors who eventually gave me a spinal tap. About midnight I was better but limp as a dishrag and out of it. I was released in Bob and Connie’s care. They took me home and put me to bed in such a caring wholehearted way in their own bed. I slept soundly for about 10 hours and felt better in the morning. I will never forget that weekend when I felt my life depended on Bob and Connie and was so well cared for.

Bob always loved hats! When he was 2, he had a red and white stocking cap that he always wanted to wear. That might have been the hat that started his lifelong love affair with hats.

Lately we have seen him wearing:
A miner’s cap with a headlamp for doing his odd jobs and for baking the turkey!
His safari hat with the long neck veil.
An engineer’s hat.

But let’s not forget Bob’s obsession with suspenders! He always had them on and wore them with a big smile!