ROBERT (BOB) YESKIE

ROBERT (BOB) YESKIE

 

     Robert (Bob) Yeskie of Hixton, WI, died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at Black River Falls Memorial Hospital.

     Bob was born Oct. 6, 1927, to Nellie (Amborn) and Charles Yeskie in Hixton, WI. He was the youngest of 13 children. His mother died when he was just four years old, so he spent a good part of his early childhood in multiple homes with brothers and sisters. Fortunately, he spent most of that time with his oldest brother, Maynard, and formed a special bond with nephew, Wallace Yeskie.

     He attended schools in Disco, La Crosse and Hixton and graduated from Hixton High in 1946. He met the love of his life, Virginia Hegge, while in high school, and they were married Oct. 2, 1947, in La Crosse, WI. They made their home in John Day, OR, where their first son, Greg, was born. Missing friends and family, they soon returned to Wisconsin, and Bob worked in the Milwaukee area and later in La Crosse, where second son Dennis was born. Eventually, they moved back to Jackson County and raised chickens in Lowe Creek. When the opportunity presented itself, they purchased a farm in Smith Coulee in the town of Curran. There,, they had two more children, Tim and Christine and farmed together until Virginia’s death in 1984. Bob continued milking cows until he was 86 years old. He always said he should have kept farming, because he never felt better than when he was working.

     Besides farming and family, Bob loved bowling, hunting and softball. He enjoyed anything where he could be a part of the competition. He loved playing, coaching and watching sports and having successful hunting trips. One of his favorite memories would always be the 2018 College World Series, where his grandson, Nate, was pitching coach for Oregon State, and they won it all that year. Bob attended five of the eight games and witnessed the championship while sitting behind home plate. He rode the bus with the team and got out to the pitching mound to celebrate with Nate and family.

     After he was married and living on the farm, he joined the Tuesday night County League at Pines Lanes. There, he met his good friend Arnie Rozmenoski and bowled as his teammate for the duration of the league, approximately 42 years. He threw a 299 on a Tuesday night, missing the 10 pin on the third ball of the 10th frame. He loved bowling and met many of his best friends there. He also bowled couples league with his wife, Virginia, for many years.

     In 1988, Bob was inducted into the Wisconsin ASA softball hall of fame. As manager of the powerful Hixton Club 95 men’s fastpitch team, his teams won eight consecutive Dairyland Softball League titles, including going unbeaten four consecutive years, plus at one time having a league record 52-game winning streak. Under his leadership, Club 95 won five Wisconsin Class A state tournaments, two ASA Great Lakes regional tournaments and finished three times in the top 10 in ASA Class A national tournaments. From 1973-76, his Club 95 teams won 244 games and lost only 33. Bob’s teams won more than 500 games over his 10-year career. On those teams, his sons Dennis was a HOF pitcher and Greg an elite centerfielder. His son, Tim, played early on, but quickly chose milking cows over softball and did chores while the team traveled. While Bob managed, the Hixton Club 95 team became known statewide. On opening night of the 1977 Wisconsin Class A state tournament at Hixton, Bob managed before the largest crowd to ever witness a softball game in Hixton, an estimated 1,200 people stood seven-deep on the streets surrounding the softball field. Club 95 would win that night and two days later take home the gold medal of a 47-team field tournament. The players would bond through the years and form friendships that remained strong until the end.

     Bob also coached the Hixton’s Ripp’s Hardware women’s slow-pitch team to their best record of 36-4. He retired after two years, saying we were the toughest bunch he’d ever coached. There too he made special friendships and wonderful memories. 

     He started hunting mule deer with family and friends out west in 1962. He hunted in Montana a few times, but most of his Octobers were spent in Wyoming where he met the Lyle Lund family. He spent over 35 years hunting on their beautiful ranch and made some of his favorite memories on those trips. He made his last hunting trip when he was 93 years old. 

     Bob loved the community and spent nearly all his 95 years in the Hixton area. We once asked him if he was interested in moving to Nevada while three of his children lived there and his answer was, “No, all my friends are here.”

     Bob is survived by his children, Greg (Beth) Yeskie, Dennis (Joan) Yeskie, Tim (Karen) Yeskie and Christine Dixon and former son-in-law Waide; grandchildren Jennifer Rogers, Nate (Brittney) Yeskie, Kristina (John) Tennert, Allison (Luke) Gerke, Mike (Hannah Olson) Yeskie, Bryan Yeskie and Eric (Gabrielle Marie) Yeskie. He is also proud to have 15 great-grandchildren and two great-great-granddaughters. He’s also survived by special nieces and nephews.

     Besides his parents and wife, Virginia, he was preceded in death by his siblings, Maynard Yeskie, Harold Yeske, Mildred Nesseth, Harriet Svoboda, Spencer Yeske, Merlin Yeske, Esther Yeske, Ruth Sterling, Alice Sweet, Vilas Yeske, Harley Yeske, James Yeske and a half-brother, Charles Yeske Jr.; in-laws Beulah Humphrey and Harold Hegge; granddaughter Kimberly Yeskie; and great-grandson Delaine Yeskie.

     A special thank you to Dr. Raju Ailiani and his team at Gundersen Lutheran for giving us five extra years with our dad; Black River Falls Memorial Hospital urgent care and second floor for all the wonderful care dad received during our visits; and last but not least, a heartfelt thank you to Kim Sebron, who always seemed to be there for dad at the most important times.

     Funeral services for Bob will be held Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, at Our Savior Lutheran Church of Hixton, beginning at 11 a.m., with visitation from 10 a.m. until the start of service. Vicar Augie Hohl will officiate. A visitation will be held Sunday, Feb. 12, at the Jensen-Modejeski Funeral Home in Hixton from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m., concluding with a prayer service led by Pastor Elden Simonson. 

     Nathan R. Yeskie, Michael R. Yeskie, Al Jacobson, Eric Hanson, Steve Kirschner, Ron West and Dan Platteter will serve as pallbearers. Justin Rogers, Dan Rozmenoski, Gary Gamoke and Lee Bergerson will serve as honorary pallbearers.

     The Jensen-Modjeski Funeral Home of Hixton is serving the family, 715-963-2311.

 

 

 

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