Robert K. Decker

Bob was born in Chicago, IL to Roy Decker and Ruth Harrington Decker, the eldest of 3 boys and 1 girl. He grew up in Chicago, and its suburbs, but during the Depression years, his immediate family moved to be near family in Brazil, Indiana. After high school, he attended 1 year at Indiana State University. He then found a job at Wycoff Steel Company in Chicago and worked in their payroll department for a short time. At Wycoff, he met a guy who had spent time on a banana boat and had ridden ""the rails"" around the country. Bob was determined to ""ride the rails"" to Alaska. In 1942, upon stern advice from an aunt to buy a ticket if he wanted to ""Go West"" and forget the rail riding business, as his mother was greatly worried, he went to live with an aunt and uncle in Cheyenne. There, his first job was working the rodeo gates at Cheyenne Frontier Days, followed by work as a civilian government employee for the Navy. Later that year, he received word from the Selective Service that his time had come to get a physical. He left Cheyenne before Christmas holidays, went home to Chicago, and then reported for basic training in the Army late January, 1943. Since he liked science, he asked during his intake interview to get some medical training. He became a medical technician and served in WWII in England, France and Germany. After the war and his return to work at Wycoff Steel, he met and married Annette Janke in September, 1946. A few days later, they boarded a train for Denver, where they raised two daughters, Diane and Barbara. The family moved to Brighton in 1962. In 1976, they joined couples in a group called ""Destination Unknown,"" which fed their appetites for adventure and fun. Bob worked at Public Service Company of Colorado for 36 years, retiring in 1985, after losing their youngest daughter, Barbara, to cancer in late 1984. Bob volunteered as a driver for The Red Cross and the Brighton Senior Center for quite a few years. After retiring, Bob took piano lessons for the first time in his life, then organ lessons, and oil painting and computer classes. After Annette retired in 1986, the couple ""hit the road"" in their 5th –wheel trailer, and also traveled to the Caribbean, Australia, Switzerland, Italy and France. They enjoyed numerous visits with friends, daughter, grandchildren (2), great grandchildren (5) and their great great grandchild. A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, March 14, 2013, 2:00 PM, at Brighton United Methodist Church, 625 South 8th Avenue, Brighton, CO. A Reception will be held following the Service. Please share your memories of Robert and condolences with his family by signing the guestbook below.