Bruce William Obermeier

Bruce William Obermeier, 66, passed away in his Green Bay, Wisconsin, home on May 19, 2020 from a sudden heart attack.

Bruce was born to Clayton and Betty (Phelps) Obermeier in Omaha, Nebraska, on March 25, 1954. He joined his sister and four brothers on an adventurous journey through life, making lasting friendships wherever the family moved. He graduated from Stillwater High School in Minnesota, after attending elementary and junior high schools in Des Moines, St. Paul, and Afton, Minnesota. He also attended the University of Minnesota and in recent years audited astronomy and nutrition classes at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Among his most treasured friendships were a host of cousins in northern Clark County, and he always looked forward to the family's "OctOBERmeier" reunions at the Crocker Schoolhouse. Bruce and his siblings spent many summers on the farm of their grandparents Hank and Anna Obermeier, one mile south of Crocker.

Bruce employed his lifelong fascination with numbers in his work with his brother Pete in sheet rock, eventually owning Obermeier Drywall, and later with his brother Chas on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. After helping his mother care for his father in Clayton's last years, he returned to Chicago and worked on the Chicago Board of Trade with other family members. Following a massive stroke in 2015, he moved in with his mother in Green Bay. He soon recovered and was able to take care of his mom's needs, thus enabling her to stay in her own apartment until she passed away in 2018. His siblings will be eternally grateful for the loving care he provided their parents.

Given the early prognosis following his stroke, as well as previous multiple coronary bypasses and stents, he never ceased to amaze his therapeutic team with the progress he made due to his relentless determination to regain his former verbal and physical skills. His determination was powered by his never-failing positive attitude that motivated other patients, especially those in his Green Bay Stroke Support Group, from whom he also received great motivation.

Bruce was an avid bike rider (taking a 20-mile ride just days before his death) and a voracious reader who gave the gift of books to many of his young family members through the years. He will be greatly missed by his surviving older siblings, Pete (and the late Linda) of Pierre; Chas (Carla) of Las Cruces, New Mexico; Patty (John) Neuman of Door County, Wisconsin; Ron of Prior Lake, Minnesota; and Brian (Michele), also of Prior Lake; his aunts Marvine Obermeier of Watertown, Jean Obermeier of Clark, and Rose Phelps of Paynesville, Minnesota; many cousins on both the Phelps and Obermeier sides of the family; and many nephews, nieces, great-nephews, and great-nieces whom he loved and took pride in as if they were his own children.

The celebration of Bruce's life will take place on Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 3:00 PM at the Crocker Lutheran Church, with Minister Marion Grimes officiating. A brief graveside ceremony will follow at the St. Thomas Cemetery, and then all are welcome back to the church basement for supper.