HARRY L. "BOB" BRONSON JR.

1933 - 2013

ENGLEWOOD, Fla. – Harry L. "Bob" Bronson Jr., 79, of Englewood, Fla., formerly of Waterman and Genoa, Ill., passed away March 27, 2013, at Englewood Community Hospital.

Born June 12, 1933, in Streator, the son of Harry L. Bronson Sr. and Anna Louise (Burkett) Bronson, Bob married Nila Marie Awe in 1985 in Genoa. They were happily married for 28 years, making their home in Genoa and for the past 24 years in Englewood.

Bob graduated from Waterman High School in 1951 and served the communities in which he lived as an assistant Boy Scout leader, an active member of Waterman Lions Club, DeKalb Jaycees, Waterman School District Board and DeKalb County School Board, Waterman and Genoa Masonic lodges, Ney Grange of Genoa and Charter Grove Grange of Sycamore.
Bob's beautiful singing voice was heard, beginning at age 13, when he performed on the radio for the Morris B. Sachs Amateur Hour in 1947 in Chicago. Bob performed in the 1973 DeKalb Stagecoach Theater production of "Guys and Dolls," along with the Englewood Men's Choir and many solos, including "How Great Thou Art" and "His Eye is on the Sparrow," at Waterman United Methodist Church and Englewood United Methodist Church and Men's Club.

Bob loved baseball and softball and was an umpire for both high school and college baseball. He coached Waterman Girls Softball, DeKalb Farm Bureau Girls Softball and Waterman Boys Little League.

A businessman in Waterman, Bob owned and operated Robert Bronson Floor Covering for many years, and also worked for Wolohan Lumber in DeKalb and Barker Lumber Company in Genoa and participated in the building of Byron Nuclear Generating Station.

A lasting tribute to Bob is the magnificent garden that he and wife, Nila, created at their home in Englewood. The many flowering ornamental shrubs and wide variety of plants are presented in containers that feature memories of his past in painted scenes of everyday life and his original botanical designs in mosaic tile. Their garden has been featured in local Florida newspapers and has been a favorite in the Englewood Garden Club tour.

Bob is survived by his wife, Nila Bronson of Englewood; children, Roberta "Robbie" (Bob) Mislevy of Severna Park, Md., Debra Bronson of Irving, Texas and Robert J. "Butch" Bronson of Riverview, Fla.; grandchildren, Jessica Mislevy of Washington, DC, Meredith (Zachary) Hughes of Annapolis, Md., and Cassara Bronson and his great-grandson, Rhyan, both of Brandon, Fla.
He was preceded in death by his parents.

The funeral service has taken place, with burial at North Clinton Cemetery, Waterman.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Harry L. "Bob" Bronson Jr. Memorial Fund, sent in care of Anderson Funeral Home, P.O. Box 605, 2011 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, IL 60115.

For information, visit www.AndersonFuneralHomeLtd.com or call 815-756-1022.