Robert Brandner

Robert J. Brandner, 98, of Aberdeen, SD, passed away Thursday, October 20, 2022, at Prairie Heights Healthcare, Aberdeen.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, October 26, 2022, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Aberdeen, with Father Jeffrey Schulte officiating.

A time of fellowship and luncheon will follow the service at the parish hall. Burial will be at Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery.

Visitation will be 5-7 p.m., Tuesday, at the mortuary with a 7:00 p.m. liturgical wake and rosary.  Visitation continues one hour before Mass at the church.

Schriver’s Memorial Mortuary and Crematory, 414 5th Avenue NW, Aberdeen, is in charge of arrangements.  Family and friends may sign the online guestbook and also view the service at www.schriversmemorial.com.

Robert “Bob” J. Brandner was born August 28, 1924, to John and Katherine (Bies) Brandner in Herreid, SD. He grew up on his parent's farm there and moved to Aberdeen in 1939 where he graduated from Central high school in 1942. On September 10, 1945, he married his roller-skating sweetheart Marie Kuckelburg and they were blessed with four children. He worked his early life to take care of his family and devoted his later life to taking care of his wife until her death in 2009.

Bob was the most loyal and hard-working man. Between the years of 1943 and 1961, he worked for the Milwaukee Railroad, Gage Bros., Franklin Dairy, and Coca-Cola. He found his 36-year career in 1961 at Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. where he was crowned “Pepsi Bob” and became the service manager until retiring at the age of 68. Throughout many of those years, he also enjoyed being skate guard weekends at Skateland.

After retiring in 1992, he just couldn’t sit still, so over the next 30 years, he enjoyed driving dealer trades for the local auto dealerships, tinkering, and making sure nothing was wasted. His family joked, often calling him “MacGyver,” because he could fix things with whatever he already had available. Bob loved making friends with many who frequented his weekly rummage sales. He learned to bake, coming up with his own recipes, especially bachelor stew. Bob loved sharing the goodies, especially his homemade donuts. You could even find him handing out skates at SkateAway on Friday nights well into his 80s. He lived in his own house until he was 92 and in his own apartment until August 2022, two months prior to his death. Bob even climbed a tree at the age of 90 to cut down the branches. Nothing stopped this incredible man.

Bob embraced life and friendships and never missed a chance to help if someone was in need. His best virtue was serving the Lord by being kind to every person and never having a bad word to say about anyone. Bob would go out of his way to say good things about a person, always saying they were “a prince of a guy.” He was a Minnesota Vikings and Twins fan through and through. He loved hunting and fishing, although many of his fish stories were bigger than the fish.

Bob loved visiting with everyone he knew and always had a story to share; stories from every year of his life. He could always remember the year and the names of people, even if it was a story from when he was six years old…like surviving a tornado that hit his parent’s home before the family could make it to the cellar.

Bob will always be remembered and cherished by everyone. To know him was to love him. He was his family’s very own “prince of a guy” and they will love and miss him always, and cherish their memories forever.

Grateful to be his family, Bob leaves behind two daughters, Jan (Stan) Heier and Barb (Dick) Mertz; one son, Rob (DeeAnn) Brandner; three grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; his many skating grandchildren; and his nieces and nephews.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Marie; daughter, Mary Brandner; three brothers; and three sisters.