Robert George "Bob" Fitzer

Robert George “Bob” Fitzer passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, May 5, 2022.

Bob was born June 5, 1924 to Albert and Viola (Hacker) Fitzer in Frankfort, IL and started school in 1929 at the Cleveland School in Frankfort. When his family moved to a farm in Plainfield, he continued his education at the one room school in Caton Farm. He graduated from Joliet Township High School in 1941. On October 12, 1944 he married Jean Roth at the Seward Congregational Church, Minooka. They lived their entire married life on County Line Road, Joliet.

He is survived by his wife, Jean (Roth) Fitzer and daughters, Juanita (Philip) Francis of Paradise Valley, AZ; Susan (Bernard) Heisner of Fairview Heights, IL and Carolyn (John) Kinsella of Seneca, IL. He is also survived by 9 grandchildren, Nita and Phil’s children - Sarah (Matt) Walsh, Laura (Jeff) Jacobs, Robert (Melissa) Francis, and Catherine Francis; Sue and Bernie’s children - Charles (Holly) Heisner, and Elizabeth (Bob) Paradiso; and Carolyn and John’s children - Michael (Kristin) Kinsella, Kathleen (Victor) Rexroade, and Colleen Kinsella.  Other survivors include his 19 great-grandchildren, sister-in-law, Priscilla (Roth) Morse; nieces, Sharyl Deckard and Jeanette Morse; and nephew, Richard Hyder.

He was preceded in death by his parents; parents-in-law, Fred and Gladys (Newman) Roth; sister, Lois (Fitzer) Hyder; brother-in-law, William Morse; niece, Barbara (Douglas) Anderson; and grandson, Matthew B. Kinsella.

Bob lived and farmed in Kendall and Will counties and firmly believed in the importance of agriculture. He attended many Farmer’s Short Course classes at Joliet Junior College. He believed in supporting his community. He served on the boards of St. John Lutheran Church, Will County Farm Bureau, Will County Corn and Soybean Associations, Will South-Cook Soil and Water Conservation District and the Federal Land Bank of St. Louis. In 2013 he provided an oral history of agriculture to the Abraham Lincoln Library in Springfield, Il.

Visitation will be on Monday, May 9, 2022 from 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.at Blackburn-Giegerich-Sonntag Funeral Home,1500 Black Road, Joliet, IL. Closing prayers will be offered at 6:50pm by the Church Council.

Relatives and friends are invited to join the family on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at St. John Lutheran Church, 2650 Plainfield Rd, for a funeral service at 10:30 a.m. Burial will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Preferred memorials may be made to St. John Lutheran Church, 2650 Plainfield Rd, Joliet or Lightways Hospice, 250 Waterstone Circle, Joliet.