Robert George Gramann, 101, died June 16, 2023 at his home in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Bob was born in Beardstown on February 20, 1922, oldest child of Arnold and Gladys Sommers Gramann.
He was also known as “Skelt,” was an Eagle Scout and took the train to Washington DC for the Boy Scout Jamboree. He graduated from Beardstown High School in 1940, president of the class, and spoke for his class at the 2015 BHS Reunion (photo). He continued to subscribe to Beardstown newspapers over the years to see local news and read his friend Roy Roberts’ column.
As a kid during the Great Depression, times were hard for the adults, he said, but he enjoyed accompanying his dad around town on odd jobs. Growing up, he was a paperboy, carhop at the College Inn, farm worker, and chicken picker and candler in a poultry market. He bought a used 1926 Model T Ford in 1939, and his mother let him pull that car apart and lay it out in the living room before putting it back together.
Bob attended college in Normal, Illinois, working as resident assistant in an orphanage for boys. He enlisted in the U.S. Army after the Pearl Harbor attack and trained in cryptanalysis at Vint Hill and Arlington Hall in Virginia. He was the Army’s Cryptographic Security Officer in the China-Burma-India theater during WWII, protecting American lives by advising on and updating communication codes. After four years in the Army, he spent 30 years as a communications officer for the government.
Bob said he noticed Dorothy Gardiner at a USO dance in 1942 because “she was the best dancer there,” and he was “a lousy dancer.” They were married after the war and raised their four children in Northern Virginia and at his overseas posts in Germany, Okinawa, and Greece. Dorothy and Bob moved to Fredericksburg after he retired and joined St Mary’s Catholic Church. He was an active member of the Fredericksburg Host Lions Club from 1984 until 2020.
In 1998, when Dorothy was injured in a car accident, Bob became her caregiver (even endeavoring to cook) and constant companion until her death in 2009. They had been married for 63 years, and he often said how much he missed her.
Bob had a curious mind and liked solving problems. He was an early supporter of innovations like online learning, telemedicine and indoor farming in abandoned shopping malls. He explored building a solar house in the 1970’s, delivering food to disaster areas, and growing tasty tomatoes.
From childhood to old age, Bob loved his family dearly and was well-loved in return. He spoke proudly of each of his children and grandchildren. He is survived by his children, Robert A (Mary Lou), Dr. William J (Rebekah), and Carol Ann, six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Also surviving are his brother, Arthur Gramann of Beardstown, sister, Gloria Hayes of Jacksonville, sister-in-law, Beatrice Gramann, his nieces and nephews, and Margaret Gramann and John Witten and their family.
He was predeceased by his parents, his daughter, Barbara Jean Gramann, brother, Richard Gramann, and in-laws, Berta Gramann, Robert Hayes, Alice Lou Gramann.
A funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on July 12 at St Alexius Catholic Church in Beardstown with burial in the Catholic Cemetery. Sager Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St Alexius Catholic Church, mailing address 240 E. Myrtle St. Virginia, IL 62691.
