He Was a Dandy

I am Jack Hoeschler, one of Bob's favorite nephews, and the eldest son of Jake Hoeschler, Bob's next older brother. I am honored to have been asked to speak today about my favorite uncle.

Robert Francis Hoeschler was the youngest and longest-surviving of the four children of William and Maebelle Hoeschler. He is only outlived in his generation by the remarkable Margaret/Muggs Hoeschler, the 100 year-old widow of his oldest brother Gene. Aunt Muggs is here today, a blessing to us all. We are also rooting for Bob's lovely widow, Gert, to match and exceed Bob's longevity since she is a mere 363 days younger than Bob.

Uncle Bob was born on April 6, 1919 in La Crosse, Wisconsin and would have been 92 today. We gather on his birthday to celebrate his life and to apply, to Bob himself, one of his favorite compliments about others: "He was a dandy." Bob was a dandy, not merely in terms of the common definition, that is, one who dresses impeccably. Which Bob did, for certain. But more importantly, Bob was a dandy in deeper ways. He was a dandy or an excellent person, especially in terms of his many loves: his family, the Midwest, his work, his dogs and cars, and of course, the Catholic church.

To me, Bob seems like the only Hoeschler of his three older siblings, Evelyn, Gene, and Jake, who not only could articulate his many loves, but actually acted on them. For sure, Bob was a dandy among that quartet of unbelievable characters.

Bob was always a good son of the Catholic Church, starting with his birth. A Franciscan nun who attended Maebelle Hoeschler's delivery of Bob at St. Francis Hospital in La Crosse, Wisconsin, insisted that Maebelle name Bob after that saint and hospital: hence Robert Francis Hoeschler. Maebelle herself was a fervent convert to Catholicism, so Bob grew up with an abundance of Holy Water, Rosaries and Signs of the Cross at home. Moreover, his Uncle Charlie, a druggist and partner of Bob's father at Hoeschler Drug Stores, was even a paid professional mourner at the downtown La Crosse Cathedral.

Bob remained a devout Catholic his entire life. He set a good example of belief and obedience, and prayed for those friends and family less devoted to the one, true, holy and apostolic church. Those prayers were often answered, encouraging Bob to pray even more for the stray sheep among us. Bob's greatest prayer realized, of course, was Gert's joining him as a member of the Catholic Church a few years ago.

In La Crosse, Bob attended the German Catholic Cathedral grade school and Aquinas high school. In high school he was a star of track and football, like his two athletic but rougher brothers who were 8 and 6 years older than Bob. Baby Bob, as Evelyn, Gene and Jake sometimes called him, appeared more pacific than his three siblings-at least to those of us in the next generation. But it is noteworthy that Bob left home for a year during high school to travel around Florida and the South. Bob, as a true Hoeschler, did not want to be under anyone's thumb.

After completing high school, Bob attended the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul for two years. Up until about a dozen years ago, Bob was faithful in attending reunions for each of the two St. Thomas classes which counted him a member. We were delighted to have him stay at our cabin in "Bob's room" while he attended St. Thomas festivities 2 out of every 5 years.

In 1941Bob transferred to the University of Wisconsin in Madison but he was quickly drafted into the US Army. Bob served stateside and with distinction as a medical officer in the Army for over 4 years. He was the only Hoeschler brother to serve in WWII. We and Bob were proud that he had won his place as a true member of "The Greatest Generation."

Bob, of course, wore his officer's uniform with elan. In his crisp uniform and his Buick convertible, Bob caught the eye and hand of one of the most beautiful girls in La Crosse, Gert Peterson. They married in January 1946, 65 years ago, and produced two beautiful daughters, Barbara and Susan, both of whom are lovely inside and out. And of course, Aunt Gert remains just as gorgeous today.

After his Army discharge in October 1945, Bob had a successful sales and sales management career with several companies. He joined Bauer and Black Surgical in 1945, then Buick in 1947, and was quickly promoted in both companies before joining Kroehler, the world's largest furniture maker. He first worked for Kroehler In Chicago, and then moved to California where he became Sr. VP of Marketing and Sales for all states west of the Mississippi, plus Wisconsin. I'm sure this gerrymandering of his territory to Include Wisconsin, was his doing. In 1972 he was chosen as Kroehler's Man of the Year, a well-deserved tribute for his many years of leadership, hard work and major sales growth for the company.

Bob and Gert made a wonderful, classy life in California, moving to "The Golden State" at just the right time. They happily caught the post-war upswing and smartly avoided foggy San Francisco for sunny Marin county. They built a lovely hillside aerie overlooking San Rafael harbor, where they graciously entertained friends and family with warmth and style. Bob sailed his boat out of the Marin Yacht Club, played tennis, and shot trap in wine country. The family also had a ski retreat at Lake Tahoe. Bob helped shape a more than good life for the family he loved so dearly and of whom he was so proud.

But Bob wasn't one to settle in golden California and never look back. He often saw the La Jolla and Arizona Hoeschlers, of course. But all his life he regularly made the long trek back to the Midwest. The older he got, the longer and more frequent were his visits with Midwest friends and family. On many a sunny summer day on the Mississippi, Bob even talked about moving back to La Crosse. Fortunately, Gert remembered the sub-zero Januaries and tabled these nostalgic ideas.

Bob's trips were much more than for his own benefit. He knit the Hoeschler family together. He purveyed good news and pride about each of the family members he visited, whether in Arizona, California, Wisconsin or Minnesota. In many ways he took his place as the patriarch of the family, even before his three older siblings had died. He seldom criticized any Hoeschler, but also did not blindly brag about us. He truly looked for the good in each of us-nieces, nephews, spouses and offspring. Thank you, Bob, for taking this smart-aleck family and bringing us some tenderness, as well as taste. In many ways, you were not just a great uncle to me, but also a father. And I think you knew this.

But of course there was a lighter side of Bob, that dandy human being: his clothes, his cars and his dogs. What can I say about Bob's clothes-I who, according to my wife, can turn any Hickey Freeman suit into a pair of pajamas in two weeks?

Quite simply, Bob was a clothes horse. He was always immaculately and tastefully dressed for any occasion. He radiated sartorial splendor! I remember his coming to my brother Jim's wedding in 1974. Bob's Mercedes trunk was full of suitcases. Each of the Hoeschler women had one suitcase apiece, while Bob had 3 for himself.

And what nephew was not instructed by Bob about how to care for a car? We were ALL taught how to properly close a car door. Slamming was verboten. "Here, here, Jackie. Let's remember our lesson. Now try that door again-the way the Germans intended!" Bob even tried to teach us the joy of parking in the farthest reach of any lot, lest another vehicle ding his meticulously maintained car. If forced to park between two cars, Bob carried a tape measure so that he could ensure that another car door wouldn't hit his. Of course, he could never park in a surrounded space for too long, lest the neighboring vehicles leave and be replaced at a closer proximity.

Both Bob and Gert had dogs as pets all their lives. Bob often took a dog along on business trips, whenever traveling by car. 'Hank', a German short-hair, trained himself to go to the elevator in a hotel, enter with the next passenger and go down and outside by himself. Relieved, he would hang around the lobby until Bob appeared to take him back to their room. Little 'Orphan Orly', a Humane Society reject, made business calls with Bob so often that there would be questions by the dealers when she didn't accompany him on a business visit.

One time Bob and Gert had driven over 7,000 miles coast to coast and back sans pets. Once home, however, Bob almost immediately put the family dog in the back of the van and the two drove off to 'vacation' in western Canada. Gert, always a saint as Bob's life partner, especially when she would ride in the back seat so the dog could sit up front, wisely opted to stay home.

Although Gert and the girls often rolled their eyes at Bob and his idiosyncrasies, the San Rafael quartet all made for an extremely close, wonderful, loyal family. Bob was so proud of the girls' accomplishments, their love for him and Gert, and their support of each other. Bob was a dandy husband and father.

But his favorite late-realized role was as a devoted grandfather to Matt. He was careful not to over-brag about Matt, but you could feel Bob's self-restraint. Matt was truly Bob's reward for living long. How wonderful that Uncle Bob spent his last full day not just with Gert, but with Matt, too.

Of course, the true measure of a person is not how he or she behaves in good times, but how the person behaves in times of stress or decline. Here Bob was a dandy example for all of us. He remained cheerful in his last decade despite increasing physical infirmities, especially shingles on his face and in his eyes. He focused outwards and remained interested in others, especially the family. I think he was sustained by his memories of La Crosse and the Midwest, his love and interest for his relatives, and the unceasing devotion and care of Gert, his daughters and Matt. And, of course, by his enduring Catholic faith.

May we each be the dandy Bob wanted us to be and thought we always were. Thank you Uncle Bob.