Robert “Bob” Gene Lawrence, age 78, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, February 9, 2025, at Spooner Health in Spooner.

Bob was born at home on the family farm to Edgar and Idella Lawrence on April 19, 1946. He was raised in Rusk Township learning hard work, perseverance, and valuable life lessons from his dad and mom. He was the first Lawrence male to graduate high school, graduating from Shell Lake High in the spring of 1964. He was drafted into the Army and served from December 1964 to December 1966. After basic, he then attended AIT and Airborne school. He then reported to Fort Bragg and was immediately deployed to the Dominican Republic in support of “Operation Power Pack”, serving as a combat medic with the 504th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division where he saw 14 months of combat.

After the Army, he trained as a machinist at WITC and reconnected with Marie. He then started a job working for FMC in the Twin Cities and married Marie in October of 1967. He worked as a concrete finisher in the Madison area for a few years, then a farm manager at farms in Montello and Portage, WI. He decided in 1979 to go back to his roots and start his own family farm moving his family back to Shell Lake. Dairy farming was a great pastime, but did not work out, so he took a job at the Civic Center in Spooner, then with an Iron Construction company, and finally found his new passion, building log homes. He built small cabins, to massive mansions across Northwestern Wisconsin and was very proud of the structures he helped to create. At age 62, he decided to retire and settle back into his real hobbies of growing a garden, hunting and lots of fishing. He also volunteered at Ruby’s Pantry, always making people smile when they came to pick up their shares.

As a Life member of the VFW and one of the founding members of Post 9867; he served in multiple roles over the years including 4 years as Post Commander, serving in Military Honor details at funerals, and assisting his fellow veterans at the American Legion to ensure every veteran received the honors they earned. His service to them will be honored at Greendale Cemetery at 1330 on 15 February 2025, when he is laid to rest.

He was a proud and resilient Husband, Father, Brother and Grandpa. He will be missed by the family he loved so dearly, and the friends and neighbors who enjoyed his "teachings" while hunting, fishing, or working on a project.

He is survived by wife Marie, son David (Cindy), daughter Dawn (Michael) Ternberg, 11 grandchildren, 4 (soon to be 5), great-grandchildren, brother Allan (Beth), as well as many nieces and nephews. Bob is preceded in death by his brothers Roger, and Richard, his son Daniel, and grandson Robert J Lawrence Sr.

Funeral Services for Robert “Bob” Lawrence will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2025, at 11am, at Lake Park Alliance Church in Shell Lake with visitation from 10-11am. Pallbearers will be Allan Lawrence, Rodney Lawrence, Michael Lawrence, Rich Lawrence, James Johnson, and Josh Smith. And honorary pallbearer Bill Johnson. A graveside service followed by Military Honors will follow at the Greendale Cemetery on Saturday at 1:30pm.

Last Update: Feb 13, 2025 1:26 pm CST