Robert "Bob" Johnson | May 6, 1936 - May 28, 2021
Obituaries-Pierre / Posted Jun 14, 2021 | 9:10 AM / 759 views
Robert (Bob) Johnson, age 85, of Le Sueur, Minnesota, died peacefully Friday morning, May 28, 2021 at the Whispering Creek Nursing Home in Janesville, Minnesota where Bob had been living since the middle of January, 2021.
Robert was born on May 6, 1936, to Clayton and Hilda (Seehafer) Johnson in Marshfield, WI. He attended Marshfield Senior High School, graduating with the class of 1954. It was during his junior high and high school years where he began his 50 year career in radio where he was hired as the sports voice of WBLD Radio in Marshfield. He was a big sports fan.
On November 17, 1956, Bob was married to Lois Ehrike in Marshfield. In 1959, Bob and Lois moved to St. Peter where, along with Bob’s cousin, Don Seehafer, bought KRBI Radio in St. Peter. Bob and his family moved to Le Sueur where he was a member of the Rotary Club for 40 years. He was a member of First Lutheran Church in Le Sueur for 60 years where he served as president of the church, ushered, and taught Sunday School as a teacher and superintendent. Bob was chairman of the city celebration, president of the Chamber of Commerce, one of the founders and emceed Le Sueur’s “Muscular Dystrophy” radiothon.
In 1998, came the devastating tornado. It knocked KRBI off the air, which took Bob and his son, Rick, months to get KRBI back to normal. During all these duties, Bob found time to do play-by-play, of Le Sueur High School, St. Peter High School and Gustavus Adolphus College games, plus the Le Sueur area noon news.
A local radio listener, dubbed Bob as “The Voice of the Valley” and that named followed him throughout his radio career. Bob retired from the radio business in 2005. In 2013, he was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
Bob is survived by his loving wife of 64 years, Lois; daughters: Dawn (Paul) Marso of Pierre, SD, and Tammy Johnson of Le Sueur; son, Rick Johnson of Janesville; brother-in-law, Norbert Riedel of Marshfield, WI; sister-in-law, Marijean Johnson of Stratford, WI; six grandchildren; eight great grandchildren, with three more to be born in the next eight months; nephews, other relatives and many friends.
Preceded in death by his parents; brother, Gordon; sister-in-law, Joyce Riedel; and nephew, Randy Johnson.
Private family service will be held.
A public celebration of Bob’s life will be held and announced on a later date.
