Robert Louis Eichman (1927-2022)

EICHMAN, KAUFMAN, BRAUER

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 7/19/2022 at 16:00:15

Obituary

Robert L. “Bob” Eichman, 95, of Dubuque, passed away peacefully on Friday morning, July 15, 2022, at Luther Manor in Dubuque. Visitation will be held at Egelhof, Siegert & Casper on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, from 4 PM to 7 PM, and at St. Paul Lutheran Church on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, from 9 AM to 9:45 AM, followed by the funeral at 10 AM. Burial will be at Linwood Cemetery following the funeral service.

Robert Louis Eichman was born in Dubuque on March 22, 1927, to Martin and Louetta (nee Kaufman) Eichman. He was Dubuque “north-ender” and attended St. Paul Lutheran School, Jefferson Junior High School, and Senior High School, graduating in 1945. He met his wife of 71 years, Damaris Brauer, at a church social event in 1949, and they were married at St. Paul’s on March 19, 1951.

After working at AY McDonald following graduation, Bob began working with his father in the electrical business started in the family garage on Washington Street—the Eichman Electric Service Company. With his brother Bill, Bob became a journeyman electrician, and in 1961, following the death of their father, Bob and Bill assumed ownership of the Eichman Electric Company in Dubuque, and served many industrial, commercial, and residential clients throughout eastern Iowa and western Illinois until they closed in 1986.

Following retirement, Bob pursued his passions, including Scouting, the outdoors, photography, and Dubuque history. Bob worked with scouts for many years at St. Paul Troup 48, and in 1990 received the Lamb Award, the highest scouting honor given by the Lutheran Church. He loved spending time outdoors, especially canoeing, as counted as one of his favorite memories a canoe trip to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota with the fellow Boy Scout troop leaders after his retirement.

In 1998, Bob became a tour guide for the Dubuque County Historical Society and later for the Trolleys of Dubuque and continued that work until he was 91. In 2014 he was awarded the Hospitality Leadership Award from the Dubuque Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. He was an avid photographer throughout his life, with a special fondness for the landscapes, textures, and colors of Dubuque and the surrounding countryside. He won multiple awards for his photographs at the Dubuque County Fair, including best-of-show, and created note cards from his photos and sold them at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.

Bob was a deeply committed family man and was extremely proud of his three children and all they accomplished in life. They inherited his love of music, history, and the hills, fields, and rivers of Northeast Iowa. He is survived by his wife Damaris of Dubuque and his children Jonathan (Suzanne) of Arlington, Massachusetts, Jennifer (Yogen) of Princeton, New Jersey, and Jayson of Dubuque, and by his sister Carolyn of Picayune, Mississippi. He was preceded in death by this brother William (Bill).

Donations in Bob’s name may be made to the Organ Fund at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Dubuque, or to Meals on Wheels.