This is the story of Robert Joseph Muth who passed away on Saturday, October 17, 2020. Robert, Bob, was a wonderful man and was loved by many, cherished by family and will be missed by all who knew him. Our Dad, who was also known as Bob, Baby Bobby and Roberto, was an amazing son, brother, husband, dad, grandfather, friend, dog dad and fisherman (“Charlie” the bass under the pier is now able to breathe a sigh of relief).
Bob’s story starts on March 27, 1943, the youngest child of William (Bill) and Marion (Mitzy) Muth, Bob was born in Milwaukee and grew up with older siblings Bill, Tom and Marilyn (Sue) on the idyllic shores of Pewaukee Lake. Bob graduated from Catholic Memorial High School, got his BA in History and Psychology from his beloved Marquette University and a Masters in Educational Psychology from UW – Milwaukee. Along the way, Bob met the love of his life, Sharon Marie Frieders (a proud graduate of Alverno College) and after a whirlwind romance, the two wed on August 13th 1966 at St. Rita’s church in Aurora, IL. They welcomed their first born, Laura Sue, in June of 1967. Not long after that (only 7 years) Joseph Thomas was born and a mere 17 years later, Emily Anne joined the family.
To all that knew him, Bob was a consummate outdoors guy. He loved duck and goose hunting, fishing, boating, water skiing, sailing and general putzing around outside. So it was not surprising that Bob and Sharon were drawn to the house on Upper Phantom Lake in 1978 where he could introduce his Illinois-based sweetheart, children and grandchildren to all the magical things that come with living on the lake. We all grew to expect Dad to start lobbying anyone and everyone around to go on a “boat ride” at any moment, on any day. In fact, the photo above is one of the last trips around the lake this summer. He was so happy and proud to once again commandeer the helm and lead the tour that he had perfected over the past 42 years.
Professionally, Bob taught history at New Berlin West. After getting his Master’s Degree, he took the position of School Psychologist for the District and undoubtedly had a positive impact on the lives of many teens during that time. We all fondly recall serving as our Dad’s guinea pigs as he trialed the latest psych evaluations on us before using them with the students that he worked with. Bob retired in 2000 and continued his work teaching Psychology at MATC for many years thereafter.
Bob was a worldly man who loved classical music as well as Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand and Blondie. He had a marvelous voice that he did not share with the outside world but could’ve been a star baritone in any choir. He was a viticulturist and vintner and loved to brag about his ability to produce a tomato before any of the rest of us even had a blossom. He told bad jokes and unfortunately passed that gene along to the rest of us. Bob was kind and thoughtful, a great listener and peace maker. He was always the one to smooth over any teenage drama that popped up over the years.
Bob was a wise and intelligent man which made his diagnosis of dementia that much more difficult to handle and understand. The last several years were hard on everyone as we watched Bob’s decline. Sharon nurtured and cared for Bob throughout his illness with the added support of many dear friends and family members. Bob loved and looked forward to those many days of going for drives, out to lunch, golfing, hiking and fishing off the pier.
There are so many people to thank for helping Bob and family through this difficult time, including Tim and Jennifer from the Wisconsin Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, the staff at Waukesha Memorial Hospital, Seniors Helping Seniors, the fabulous OTB (!), the amazing teams at Renaissance Senior Living and Preceptor Hospice, the incredible Todd Seidl at Care Patrol of Greater Milwaukee and so many other special people. We are truly blessed.
A celebration of Bob’s life will be planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Wisconsin Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Donations can be made on the website: https://www.alz.org/wi or checks can be sent to:
Alzheimer's Association - Wisconsin Chapter
620 S 76th St., Suite 160
Milwaukee, WI 53214