On April 26, 2024, Robert Leon Ohnoutka passed peacefully to heaven while thunderstorms and tornadoes raged. He was surrounded by his family, listening to them laugh at dear memories in his final breaths.

During his life, Bob was a big brother, husband, father, friend, grandfather, farmer, and musician. But first, he was a baby born during a snowstorm. It seems storms announced his arrival to, and departure from, this earth. Though contested, Bob was born on February 11, 1936 to Edward and Martha (Sloup) Ohnoutka. Bob would smile as he told the story, saying that soon after being born, he was separated from his parents and the doctor who had picked them up in a horse-drawn carriage. He had to crawl through the snow, light one of the doctor’s cigars, and puff on it during the night to stay warm. From the beginning, “Bob’s way” was the only right way to do anything.

His whole life, Bob left a mark on others, notably the law enforcement who couldn’t figure out why firecrackers were coming at them from the sky. His childhood mischief was thwarted when he joined the Army where he worked on planes and was a training instructor. (It is very clear where he got the skills he used to “teach” his kids). Bob returned to take over the family farm in Weston, Nebraska in 1958, after his father died. As the oldest, he provided for his younger siblings and mother. Bob met Carolyn, the best thing that happened to him, and while dating, they had an agreement that whenever it rained, he would come to Lincoln to pick her up for a date. They married on April 20, 1968, celebrating their 56th anniversary shortly before Bob passed. Bob continued to be a good provider to his family by farming and working at Cushman during their marriage.  They were blessed with four children whom Bob put straight to work on the farm. Those who love him carry his “infinite wisdom” with them: “If it’s smoking it’s cooking, if it’s burning it’s done” and “That’s using your brain for something other than keeping your ears apart” to give a few.

Bob won his battle with Covid in 2020, giving us four more years to hear the stories, jokes and music he surrounded his life with and made others smile. He learned to play the button accordion by listening to his father play and the guitar while in the Army. Bob played everywhere: retirement homes, the Kolache Corner, accordion jamborees, and family events. “If I would have known we were going to have so much fun, I would have brought my accordion!” was one of his favorite things to say. He became a prominent accordion repairman in the Midwest, sharing the joy of music for generations and making sure his kids could never get away from hearing a polka.

Bob leaves behind his wife Carolyn, children Mary Mangels, Victoria (Bill) Rethmeier, John (Susan) Ohnoutka, Rebecca Ohnoutka, and sister Dorothy.  He relished his role as grandfather to David, Jake, Matthew, Hannah, Sean, Kate, Jana, and Owen, because it meant more unassuming souls to prank and put to work. He never let David live down the target competition he won handily (because he sanded the edges of David’s bullets to make sure they didn’t go straight). He is preceded in death by his mother and father, brother Don, and sister Lucille.  The family is forever in debt to the neighbors, hospital staff, and friends who helped take care of Bob over the years. It is because of you we got to enjoy his humor and big heart for as long as we did.