Fenske

Mr. Fenske

Robert Fenske of Rockdale passed away at age 75 on Oct. 26, 2024, at his home surrounded by family.

Ro b g r ew up in Port Edwards, a small town in Central Wisconsin. He came from a large family and developed a strong work ethic early in his life.

He had many different jobs growing up including paper boy and various summer jobs in the paper mill.

He was a standout athlete at Assumption High School, excelling in football, basketball and track.

As a young man, Rob had several different restaurant management jobs before putting himself through college at the University of South Florida, graduating with a degree in accounting.

Rob earned his CPA certification and spent his career working as an auditor, accountant and eventually controller for Steak & Ale, Abbott Laboratories, Raytheon, Resistol Hats, Marmon Trucks, and Commercial Metals. Eventually, he became a consultant for financial systems implementations, working for PwC and various other consulting companies. Rob also owned his own CPA firm.

Although Rob grew up in Wisconsin and loved his time in Florida, he adopted Texas as his home state when he moved to Dallas and worked for Steak & Ale.

Dallas is where he met his future wife, Mary Ann, on a blind date at Bennigans. They married in 1981 and enjoyed life in the Dallas area, raising sons Bobby and Billy.

In 2016, Rob and Mary retired to the family farm in Rockdale enjoying small town country life.

Rob had a variety of interests including chess, history, reading, golf, working out, gardening, technology and, most of all, he loved sports, especially watching football and basketball.

He was able to combine his love for family and sports, especially basketball, by coaching his son’s sports teams growing up. He spent many years organizing practices, traveling to tournaments and games, keeping stats and seeing them develop as athletes.

Rob also enjoyed giving back through his adult life by volunteering at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Carrollton, Texas, Junior Achievement, and the Collin County Community College Entrepreneur Program.

In Rockdale, Rob was involved at Peace Lutheran Church, serving as treasurer and also the Little River Basin Master Gardener Association, serving on several committees.

He was preceded death by parents, father Melvin Fenske, mother Lorraine Richter Fenske, and brother in-law Robert Jenkin.

Survivors are his wife, Mary Holliman Fenske of Rockdale; brothers James and wife Mary Fenske of North Canton, Ohio, and Norbert Fenske of Port Edwards, WI; sister Mary Jane Fenske of Baraboo WI; his children, son Robert Doss and wife Karen Mok of Seattle, WA, son William James and wife Sydney Fenske of Austin and daughter Erica and husband David Richards of North Richland Hills; grandchildren Juno and Declan Fenske, Sabine Fenske-Mok, and Noah, Joshua and Nate Richards; and great-grandchild Harrison Richards; also, many nieces and nephews who he loved dearly.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children Research Hospital, Peace Lutheran Church and Lucy Will Patterson Library.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at Phillips & Luckey Funeral Home in Rockdale. Burial will follow at I.O.O.F Cemetery.

Visitation will be held one hour prior to service.