Robert "Bob" Placzkiewicz

1940 - 2024

News story
By Mike Sigov
Blade Staff Writer

Robert "Bob" "Parker" Placzkiewicz, a longtime Toledo firefighter who owned and operated a Lake Erie fishing charter boat business, died March 16 at Parkcliffe Alzheimer's Community. He was 83.

He died of complications from a hip fracture suffered in a fall, son Michael Placzkiewicz said.

Mr. Placzkiewicz was a dedicated fireman and an enthusiastic charter boat captain who loved the lake and advocated for sport fishing, as opposed to commercial netting, he said.

He retired in 1994 after 28 years with the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department, where he was hired in 1966 as a private, the rank with which he retired.

"He drove a pumper, and he liked it. And as a charter boat captain, he enjoyed taking people fishing, especially returning customers and firefighter friends," the younger Mr. Placzkiewicz said, noting that at different times he used to be his father's first mate and a fellow charter captain.

Mr. Placzkiewicz owned and operated Parker Guide Service in Oak Harbor and was a charter captain for 47 years since the company's inception in 1973 until around 2021, when he started having dementia symptoms and retired from the business, the son said.

The charter business has a 30-foot boat, which Jeffrey Placzkiewicz, Mr. Placzkiewicz's other son, operates out of Wild Wings Marina, offering charters to fish for walleye, perch, and smallmouth bass. Another 30-foot-boat was sold when Mr. Placzkiewicz retired from the family business. At the peak of its operations, the business had four boats.

"He was a legend in Lake Erie sport fishing, one of the old timers," Jeffrey Placzkiewicz, who runs the family business, said. "And he taught a lot of people [how to navigate and fish] the lake. ... He was a very kind individual, just a nice gentleman, very personable, very friendly."

Robert Placzkiewicz also helped establish the former Lake Erie Sport Fishermen Association in the mid-1070s to early-1980s, during which time he was also instrumental in securing Lake Erie walleye's status as a sport fish, protecting them from from commercial netting, his sons said.

In the mid-1980s, he also helped establish Lake Erie Charter Boat Association.

In 1999, he was Inducted into Lake Erie Hall of Fame.

In the early 2000s, Mr. Placzkiewicz won the Lake Erie Charter Captains Tournament twice, as a team with his sons.

Over the years, he also placed high in multiple other fishing and duck-calling tournaments.

Born July 4, 1940, in Toledo to Sophie and Stanley Placzkiewicz, he attended Woodward High School before dropping out to support the family after his father died in the mid-1950s.

He later worked at different times at the former Chase Bag Co., Jeep Corp., and Teledyne Turbine Engines plants in Toledo before he was hired at the the fire department.

In his free time, he liked to fish for walleye and duck hunt. He also enjoyed spending time with his family, cooking for fellow firefighters, and wintering with his wife in Naples, Fla.

He was preceded in death by five siblings.

Along with his wife, Kathy Placzkiewicz, whom he married in 1959, he is survived by his sons, Jeffrey and Michael Placzkiewicz, three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. April 27 at Ohio Living Swan Creek, where the Last Alarm service will immediately follow.

The family suggests tributes to Toledo Firefighters Museum or Lake Erie Charter Boat Association.