Robert (Bob) Piekarski
Robert (Bob) Piekarski floated away in calm water into the eternal lake of abundance on Sunday, August 7th. Bob entered the world, fishing rod in hand, on April 16th, 1940, where he would begin his lifelong journey of securing the title of “World’s Greatest Fisherman”, by certified unofficial ranking of family and friends. Bob was born to Tony and Tillie Piekarski (of Polish and Italian descent, respectively) in a quiet (to the outside) modest and loving home on 13th avenue in International Falls. The inside of Bob’s home growing up was nothing short of chaotic. A dad who owned Piekarski construction funded by the hard work of Bob, a mom who at 4’9” yielded a butcher’s knife to accurately emphasize the most important points in all conversation, and brothers and a sister who all shared handme downs and walked to school uphill in snowstorms both ways. Bob’s school years consisted of boot hockey, taunting the nuns and showing off the ruler scars on his knuckles as proof. Some of his fondest memories were of caretaking the 8th street rink and letting the boys lock up… “and don’t forget to turn off the lights”. He always felt pride in watching the local hockey develop on that rink and shared in all of the success. He never let us forget that he was a proud member of the PeeWee hockey team invited to Boston in 1952. His greatest love growing up was hunting and fishing. The stories of hunting and fishing trips with friends and family along with the trophies as proof will always be a testament to his talents for the generations to come.
