Robert Petershack

Robert “Rob”

Petershack, 65 of Maple

Bluff, Wisconsin passed

away on May 1, 2019 at

Agrace Hospice with his

wife Kim (Bibow), loving

family, friends and dog

Cronkite at his side.

Rob was born on No-

vember 17, 1953 in

Milwaukee Wisconsin, the

son of Richard and

Dolores Petershack. He

was blessed to have a

twin brother and 5 other

siblings.

After earning his BA de-

gree at UW-Eau Claire,

Rob worked for State Se-

nator Lynn Adelman in

the Wisconsin State Sen-

ate, including helping to

pass landmark legislation

for Mothers Against

Drunk Driving. He then

proudly worked in the US

House of Representatives

for US Representative Al

Baldus, who Rob con-

sidered one of the most

honorable men he’d ever

known.

After working in the

political arena, Rob fol-

lowed his Dad into busi-

ness at Waldes Kohinoor,

working in sales. While

working for Waldes in Ar-

kansas he was lucky to

meet an exceptional group

of people when he started

a singles group. The group

proved to be wildly suc-

cessful as evidenced by

the many marriages and

kids which resulted from

it. Waldes eventually relo-

cated Rob to New York

City and ultimately Rob

moved to Metuchen, New

Jersey.

It was in New Jersey

that Rob took up bicy-

cling, finding himself as-

tounded by the beauty of

the rural bike routes lined

with horse farms, small

creeks, rustic roads and

natural wonders there.

After working in sales,

Rob decided to pursue his

life long dream to attend

law school. He took the

plunge knowing it would

require an enormous com-

mitment and effort and

was accepted into the

University of Wisconsin

Law School, graduating

with honors in 1994. Dur-

ing Rob’s first year of law

school, he lived with his

brother Rick and Rick’s

family and is forever in

their debt.

Rob continued biking

and met “a better friend

than I deserved”, Paul Ka-

chelmeier. They complet-

ed the Ride the Rockies

bike event – 400 miles in

7 days and 28,000 feet of

climbing, along with other

challenging rides across

the state of Wisconsin.

His hard work in law

school paid off and he

started his career at Lafol-

lette & Sinykin in

Madison. He settled into

the practice of intellectual

property law. During this

time he met his wife, Kim,

through a mutual ac-

quaintance. He knew she

was a “keeper” when they

went on a mountain bik-

ing trip up north and she

biked with enthusiasm

with him despite an unex-

pected 6 inches of snow.

They married in March

1997, which began the

ongoing debate “who was

the luckiest” and an undy-

ing devotion to each oth-

er.

Rob moved from Lafol-

lette to Epic System,

where he served as

in-house counsel. He then

moved on to continue

work in trademarks and

copyright law with Micha-

el Best and Friedrich and

ultimately Axley Brynel-

son. Despite health chal-

lenges causing him to re-

tire from the practice of

law, he returned to an old

hobby and became an ac-

complished photographer,

capturing beauty around

him and sharing that with

others through his art. He

loved dogs, particularly

his border collie Sneakers

– a brilliant and loyal

companion – as well as

Cookie the cockapoo and

Cronkite the mutt. He had

a love for politics and ac-

tively and generously sup-

ported issues he felt

would make this world a

better place to live. Fol-

lowing the passing of his

parents, Rob took over as

the “Grand Poobah,” pub-

lisher and editor of the

Petershack Monthly Re-

view – a family monthly

newsletter spanning al-

most 30 years.

Rob is survived by: his

beloved wife Kim, twin

brother Rick Petershack

(special friend Darcy Wil-

liams), Madison WI; sister

Kathleen (Jeff)

Dagenhardt, West Allis

WI; brother Ken (Liz)

Petershack, Pewaukee,

WI; sister Lori (Dave) Bir-

chbauer, Waukesha WI;

Dave (Jean) Petershack,

San Antonio TX,

sister-in-law, Kristie Bell

Petershack; and his buddy

Cronkite. Rob was a very

proud uncle/great uncle to

many nieces and

nephews. Rob never un-

derestimated the value of

family. Numerous first

cousins, his Aunt Cil, Un-

cle Vic and Aunt Sylvia,

also survive Rob.

Rob was preceded in

death by: his father

Richard V. Petershack,

mother Dolores

Petershack, and brother

Larry Petershack, his dogs

Sneakers and Cookie, and

many aunts, uncles and

first cousins.

A memorial service will

be will be held at 11:00

a.m. on Tuesday, May

21st at the Cress Center,

6201 University Avenue

in Madison with Pastor

Margo Martens officiating.

Visitation from 9:00

-11:00 a.m. will precede

the service.

Rob would appreciate

memorial donations made

in his name to the Car-

bone Cancer Center in

Madison or the American

Society for the Prevention

of Cruelty to Animals.

Condolences may be left

in Rob’s online guestbook

at

Cressfuneralservice.com

Rob is eternally grateful

for his family and his

friends for the innumer-

able happy times shared.

Special thanks to his best

friend and twin brother

Rick; nephew Ben

Petershack – Rob’s Bone

Marrow Buddy for Life,

Dr. Mark Juckett, Blythe

Gage, NP, Dr. Shannon

O’Mahar, Dr. Boyle; Kate

Roider, RN and all of the

wonderful staff and

volunteers at Agrace.

“I am confident that in

time, what was me will

fill the galaxy. I am so

honored to have been able

to be on this journey at

all, let alone with those

who love and care for

me.”

Please share your

memories at

wwww.cressfuneral

service.com