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IN LOVING MEMORY OF
Robert Donald
Kohl
August 19, 1933 – March 23, 2020
Obituary
Kohl, Robert D. (Born August 19, 1933, in Buffalo, NY). Best known as "Bob," Dad, Grandpa, or Great-Grandpa, (but best remembered as THE sweetest, funniest, and most caring man anyone could have had the pleasure of calling by any one of those aliases), passed away on March 23, 2020, in Clermont, FL.
He will be remembered as the strong, determined, and gracious man he was throughout his life. The kind of man who, before you could finish reading this love letter of sorts, would have made sure you knew how to change a tire (no matter what family Christmas party he chose to show you during), tie a proper knot (no matter which afternoon boat ride needed to be delayed to do so), and teach you a thing or two about work ethic (you're welcome).
He was a looker who only had eyes for one woman (and if you could have seen the way those eyes looked at her)! He was the kind of man the phrase "they just don't make 'em like you anymore" could be fashioned after and ensured his daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters knew just how high that bar was set. He is survived by his wife (Jean Sharpe Kohl) and their 66 years of marriage. His admiration for her will forever remain unmatched on this side of life and now the other.
He was a father who would need you to stick your finger in the carburetor in order to get you across state lines but then also make sure, in a sea of inferior-sibling-having fountain sodas, you got the milkshake. Take you roller-skating but be sure to be the biggest kid there. Remove all the seats in the car because times were hard, there was definitely change in-between those seats, and because you and your five siblings LOVE and asked for an apple (not just any apple of course, a New-York-State apple)! He was a father who would take his youngest daughter out sailing, misjudge the speed with which a sailboat actually NEEDS to be backed into the water, and watch in awe of just how far and how fast an unmanned sailboat can actually make it into the middle of the lake (quickly followed-up by a "don't tell your mother"). He was the kind of father who would jump out of bed to enjoy a piece of coffee cake, a cup of coffee, and some one-on-one time with his daughter and the kind of father who would instill a life-long love of craftsmanship, DIY enthusiasm, and humor in his son (and usually all of them at the same time but usually only upon reflection).
He was a grandfather, who in a sea of grandchildren, could always make you feel like YOU were his favorite. Whether he took you out fishing while everyone else still laid asleep, or danced with you at your wedding and whispered his hopes for your love and happiness in your ear, or explained (in excruciating detail) the inner-workings of his massive, self-built, self-architected, and needed-to-be-put-in-the-garage train set when you (innocently but rather naively) asked how it worked.
Bob Kohl, or whichever name you were lucky enough to know him by, leaves behind not only a life of pride and accomplishment but, more importantly, a life characterized by the kind and gentle spirit which enveloped every interaction he made. He is greatly missed but a piece of him can be seen and felt (genetically-speaking) in his family. He's seen in his children and their near-obsessive love of New-York-State apples, the way his entire family judges a DIY project's success, not by the actual results, but more by the story they got out of it, and the way his great-grandson (one of many great-grandchildren) stands, mouth agape, at the sight of a "choo-chooing" locomotive. (We'll consider the kid spared those excruciating "choo-choo" details...for now).
Bob Kohl, 86, parents Robert William Kohl (deceased) and Dorothy Rose Dewitt Kohl (deceased). Survived by his wife Jean Sharpe Kohl (married December 8, 1953). His six children, Cindy Jean Calabrese (John Calabrese), Robert Lee Kohl (Jennene Kohl), Cathy Lynn Kohl, Charles Lee Kohl (Kathy Kohl), Carol Ann Fratercangelo (Angelo Fratercangelo), Shelly Jean Laffey (Patrick Laffey). His brothers, George Kohl (Marion Kohl), Gerald Kohl (Judy Kohl), Donald Kohl (Ally Kohl), Richard Kohl (deceased) (Marge Kohl), and sister Dorothy Fowler (deceased) (Ernie Fowler- deceased). His 18 surviving grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. Along with countless extended family and friends.
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