My oldest brother Robert, everybody called him Bob had all the qualities of a true to life hero. He grew up during the height of the depression when a having good job was a blessing few people had. He worked at various jobs during his grade school years and was fortunate enough to work for the park district in Chicago during his high school years. All through his school years, Bob’s grades were always above average. He loved school because he enjoyed learning. He became one of St. Pascal’s finest alter boys. He was a master at playing the game of chess. He enjoyed almost all Shakespeare plays and enjoyed discussions regarding the plays. His attitude towards life was always upbeat, and depression was not an option open to him.

As a young boy Bob whittled. He carved statues of people and animals. Sometimes he painted them and other times he just left them natural. The statues were great. He loved fishing and studied different techniques, and was very good at catching fish. During his high school years, Bob was a body builder and weight lifter. Also, he was a great tumbler, today it is called gymnastics.

For two years, he played a French horn in the Fenwick High band when he was in high school. All us brothers and sisters thought that was great.

He worked at the Waveland Park Golf course, part time, during his last two years of high school. After work, about ten in the evening, he and a few friends would swim in the lake. One evening while they were diving off the rocks into the water, Bob dove deep. He had his eyes open and came face to face with a dead swimmer whose foot was stuck in a rock at the bottom of the lake. He surfaced, and they called the police who retrieved the body from the lake.

During the summer before his senior year of high school, a priest visited our home and asked Bob to go to a seminary in Carthage, Missouri. He only stayed there a month and came home to finish his schooling at Fenwick Catholic high school in Oak Park.

Bob had many talents and he always had to perfect each one. He was very good at drawing and painting at an early age. He was a splendid artist. During his years in grade school, many boys in his class paid him to draw and sometimes paint nude pictures. I’m sure this wouldn’t be a good idea at the seminary.

Bob was an author. He wrote hundreds of stories and novels. He always wanted to be known as a great writer like Hemmingway or Steinbeck. He never used his own name as author and never told me the name. He wouldn’t send any of his work to woman’s magazines or such. He wanted his work to be recognized as literary works of art. He showed Rosemary and me his manuscripts one afternoon. They started on the floor of a closet and reached the ceiling.
Bob was a poet. Besides writing many novels, he also wrote poems. He read poems written by famous poets and studied their writings. He loved reciting poetry aloud. I didn't care for that when I was young.

Bob was an inventer. He was always thinking how to improve things. When he began to work on a solution, he never stopped until he was sucessful. Yet, he never patented any of his ideas. One such idea was the spinning reel that fishermen use. He invented that years before there were any being produced.

He studied the skies. He knew all the planets, star formations and their names. He could look up at the sky and show you where all the constallations were.

Years later he worked at the Art Institute in Chicago where he met his wife Shirley. They remained married for 65 years. They moved to Florida in the early 50s and after a couple of years returned to Chicago. They built a house in Arlington Heights, and after only two years they decided to move back to Florida where they enjoyed their life together. They have five children and have remained close to every one. When he married Shirley, he needed a good paying job. He talked to a garage builder located on Harlem Ave. in Chicago who hired him to build their garages. The pay was great and he was great at his job. He became friendly with the crew that poured the cement slabs for the garages and when there was a slow period, he worked with the Campbell brothers. During this period he began to remodel homes and soon became a very rounded carpenter. During this time, many builders and contractors were asking Bob for advise relating to constructing projects. He drew blueprints for his own projects and also for many other people. He drew the prints for my house when I was ready to build here.

He had no fear of heights. One day while he and other carpenters were working on a barn at Maywood Park Race Track, he did a hand stand on the front corner of the roof. The carpenter crew thought he was crazy, because it was a long way to the ground.
When Bob layed out common, jack and hip roof rafters, he used geometry. When he figured rise and run for stairs, he used geometry. He used his math skills to figure most calculations while he worked as a carpenter. It was amasing to me

Bob built a nice small boat in his garage during the winter. When spring came we took it to the Desplanes river to test it. It was a cold March morning and we lifted the boat onto the roof of his car. We secured it with a few ropes and drove to the river. The boat wasn't very heavy and we carried down a bank to the water. We set it in the water, climbed into it and began to row. Everything was fine until we came close to some tree branches. We both leaned the same direction, and because I was sitting on the back of the boat, instead of on the seat, the boat capsized. Bob swam for the boat and brought it to shore, and I swam into the river to get the oars. Now we are really cold and wet. We quickly loaded the boat and drove home. The boat was a success though. There were no leaks, It handled well and if I would have been sitting where I belonged, there would have been no problems.

One year he was hired by Erickson-Matheson stair builders located in DesPlaines. He installed mill made stairs and also measured various jobs and drew the prints. He became their best stair man and was missed a lot after he moved to Florida the last time.

Work was scarce in Florida, but Bob always seemed to find a job. When times were slow, he built a couple homes for himself and rented them. He joined the Riviera Beach police department and worked there for three years. He quit because he was tired of being a baby sitter for drunks. Now Bob wasn’t a "tee drinker", but he claimed that the majority of his work directly related to drunken people.

After quitting this job, he started his own cabinet shop. It was very successful, but Bob became bored. He gave the business to his son and decided to start a stair building business. In a short time it also became very successful. After a couple years, Bob gave that business to another son. He now began working with his daughter. Diane and Bob began a ceramic business. Di produced the ceramics and Bob carved and created the molds that were used in their shop. He had orders all over the world for family crests and other items. He worked with Di until he passed away.

Bob always treated everyone with great respect. From his siblings, his work partners, his workers and especially his wife, Shirley, and his children. He had bad remembrances of our father and vowed never to treat anyone badly. He swore he would never physically punish a child of his, using only speech as a punishment or as a cure to a family problem. I’m sure his children will only remember him as a real gentle man who had complete respect for everyone, especially wife and family.

Bob was my greatest hero. He was my mentor and a great friend. Bob was an incredible older brother. I could relay on him for advice, help, encouragement and assurance. He always strived to be the best at whatever he was doing. He always respected other people’s views, whether he agreed with them or not. He always tried to live a decent life. He loved his wife more than anything in the world, and he loved his children and accepted their views, even though some were not his own. I looked up to him when I was growing up. I worked with him during my four years of high school, and looked forward to the day we could work together as full time carpenters. He helped me during my high school days with my schoolwork, and after my Dad died he became even more important to me. Many evening I visited Bob and Shirley and he studied with me. I loved mechanics and he always encouraged me to study and learn everything about car engines. We fished together many days and I visited him and Shirley quite often. He preached to me about my behavior and talked to me about the proper ways to treat a lady.

Rosemary and I lived in Florida for a year. The duplex we lived in was only a city block from Bob and Shirley’s house. Bob and Shirley helped us when we needed them, and were a great source of advice that we needed during that period of our life.

I have only seen Bob three times since we moved back to Chicago from Florida about 50 years ago. He visited here and we had a great time. I have missed him often during these years, and I’ll miss him until the day I die. There was only one Bob Dittmer, a great brother, and a truly great person.

Bob died of a heart attack Saturday afternoon while trimming bushes in his yard. 08/15/09
I believe Bob was 83 years old.

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