Robert Alvin Strauch, age 91, passed away October 9th, 2017 at the nursing home in Akron Colorado surrounded by his wife and family. A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday October 21, 2017 at 11:am at the Presbyterian Church in Akron Colorado.
Rob was born on February 16, 1926 in Kimball, Nebraska. He was the 4th son of five born to Walter and Marie Strauch.
His family moved to Brush Colorado when Rob was 6 years old where he attended Knearl School. The family later moved to the family farm where Rob and his brothers helped their father in the beet field. Rob attended Morey School and then attended Brush High school where graduated in 1944. Following graduation, Rob enlisted in the United States Army. He entered the military on September 9, 1944 and attended Infantry Basic Training at Camp Roberts in California.
Upon completion of Basic Training, Rob shipped out to Hawaii and then to Sapporo, Japan. He served as a Tec Sargent with the Headquarters, 11th Airborne Division where he supervised and directed personnel in the preparation of general and special orders.
Rob served with the Appleknockers regiment in the Ryukyus Campaign, a series of battles and engagements between Allied forces and Imperial Japanese forces in the Pacific Ocean campaign of World War II. The Appleknockers landed on the Ryukyuan stronghold and were committed on the southern front where they battled against some of the heaviest concentration of Japanese artillery encountered during the campaign.
He also served with Company F, 104th Infantry Regiment in the Okinawa Campaign.
Rob was honorably discharged from the Army on November 22nd 1946. His military decorations include: Parachutist Badge, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal and the Bronze Star.
Following his service he returned to Brush, Colorado. He met Inez at the roller skating rink in Brush, in early 1949 and they were married in the Presbyterian Church in Akron on November 27, 1949. They lived in Brush where Rob worked from Sinton Milk and Inez worked for B&B Pharmacy. They welcomed their first child, Kent in December 1950.
In 1952, Rob and his family moved to Akron where Rob went to work for Inez's brother Bill working in construction. Rob and Inez welcomed their second child Jill in February of 1955.
A few years later, Rob started his own construction company called Rob's Builders Supply and Concrete. Through the years, Rob constructed and remodeled many homes and businesses throughout Akron and Washington County. He was an expert cabinet maker and enjoyed making wood into beautiful pieces for his customers. Rob was a very hard working man with an incredible work ethic which he exhibited every day until his retirement.
Rob and Inez raised their family and were active members of the Akron community including as members of the Presbyterian Church where Rob served many times as an elder. He was a volunteer fire firefighter and retired after 20 years of service.
He was also a loyal Lion Club member for nearly 60 years. He became involved in the Lions Club early in his life. Rob told the story of Dan Alt coming to town with his trailer of mops and brooms where they set up on Main Street to sell them. This interested Rob and was the start of his membership with the organization. Through the years some of his favorite events he participated in was the booth at the fair, the reverse raffle and the fishing derby. For his years of service, he was a recipient of the Lion Club Melvin Jones Fellow Award for his dedicated humanitarian service.
For many years Rob made trips to Palisade Colorado where he brought a van full of peaches back for the Akron community. His grandchildren often made this trip with him which made for some great memories.
He played on a bowling league for many years and loved and played softball well into his sixty's. He was avid fisherman and boater and loved spending time with his family doing these activities. He also enjoyed hunting and had annual deer, pheasant and grouse hunting trips which he continued well into his eighties.
He was a dedicated fan of the Akron sports department and regularly attended games.
He was a Broncos and Rockies fan and enjoyed spending time watching the games.
He enjoyed trips to Elko Nevada and years ago, he and Inez used would take one day trips from Akron to Elko. Later in his life, he enjoyed making trips to Black Hawk with Inez and his family.
Rob loved gardening and every year had one of the biggest gardens in town. He took pride in making sure everything was planted to perfection and that his tomatoes grew as big as possible.
Rob had a fall in July of 2015 where he broke his leg and had surgery followed by several months of rehab. He had a 2nd surgery in 2016 followed by several more weeks of rehab. Over the last two years Rob faced many medical challenges but remained strong with the support of his wife of nearly 68 years along with his entire family.
He is survived by his wife Inez Strauch (Krause); son Kent Strauch and wife Joan Strauch (Fillion) of Peyton, Colorado; daughter Jill Withers (Strauch) and husband Doug Withers of Erie, Colorado. Ten grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren. Rob is also survived by many sister in-laws, nieces, nephews and cousins.
Rob is proceeded in death by his parents Walter and Marie Strauch of Brush, Colorado, his brothers Ed, Harry, Herb, and Elmer Strauch.
In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be made in Rob's name to the Washington County Green House Nursing Home, First Presbyterian Church of Akron or the Wounded Warrior Project.