Robert "Bob" Friebel

1950 - 2020

Robert "Bob" Friebel

Town of Union - Robert "Bob" Friebel, 70, originally of De Pere, WI, went to heaven on Saturday, November 21, 2020 from his home in Door County after a 22 month battle with cancer. He was born on August 22, 1950 to Joseph and Lucille (Martell) Friebel. He grew up on the west side of De Pere on what is now part of St. Norbert College campus. He attended St. Joseph Grade School for 7 years and then graduated from St. Boniface Grade School. Only a half block from his home, he attended and graduated from Abbot Pennings High School in 1968. During his school years Bob was very active in Boy Scouts and became an Eagle Scout.

Bob was always a hard worker starting with his first job at age 15 as a pin setter at Century Bowling Lanes in De Pere. When he turned 16, he began working at the Red Owl Store in East De Pere where he met his future wife, Nancy Lee Denis. Teased as the "Red Owl Romance", they were married on May 1, 1971 at St. Mary Church in De Pere. In 1973, wanting a more secure future for his family, he left Red Owl and started working at Fort Howard Paper Company in the Printed Napkin Department. Bob retired from the mill (now known as Georgia Pacific) in 2004.

Bob's favorite pastimes were feeding the birds and squirrels at home in the winter and at the family cottage on Breezy Acres during the summer. The neighbors would always tease him that he had the healthiest and fattest squirrels in town. He was also an avid sports fan and rarely missed a Packer, Brewer or Bucks game on TV. Lucky enough to have Packer season tickets, he enjoyed many tailgate parties with family and friends in the Moose Lodge parking lot. He liked to share his story about being a peanut vendor at the famous Ice Bowl Game back in the 60's. Although he only went to one Nascar race during his life, he loved to watch the races on TV and was a big Rusty Wallace fan.

After retirement, Bob and Nancy enjoyed traveling and spent winter weeks in Florida, Mexico, Hawaii and many different islands in the Caribbean. Summers were spent at their cottage on Breezy Acres in Door County. In 2018 they decided to fulfill their retirement dream of living on the bay of Green Bay, had the cottage torn down and built a permanent residence.

Robert is survived by his wife of 49 years, Nancy; children Melissa (Joel) Torgerson and their children Maya and William, Michelle (Raj) Patel, sister Judy (Brian) Moran, brother Mark Friebel, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: David (Darlene) Denis, Jan Denis, Mike (Gail Rebman) Denis, John (Ann) Denis and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his son Bryan R. Friebel, parents Joseph and Lucille, his in-laws Leland and Eunice (Schilling) Denis, and brother-in-law Steven Denis.

The family would like to thank the staff of Unity Hospice for all of the wonderful care they provided allowing Bob to spend his final days at his home.

Due to COVID-19, a celebration of Bob's life will be held next summer.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to Altrusa House, P.O. Box 5521, De Pere, WI 54115 or Unity Hospice, 2366 Oak Ridge Circle, De Pere, WI 54115-9207.