Rower, Jr., Robert
1945 - 2021
Robert “Bob” P. Rower, Jr. was gifted to the world by Robert P. and Mary I. (Ours) Rower, Sr. on July 12, 1945 in Detroit, Michigan. His family relocated to Sugar Grove, Ohio when he was a boy, where attended Berne Union and joined the Boy Scouts. They moved again to Lancaster, Ohio, where he graduated from Lancaster High School in 1963. Following graduation, Bob hitched a ride to San Diego, California with his cousins, and eventually made his way to Malibu. He was hired as a busboy at Ted’s Ranchero, a restaurant located on a Malibu pier overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He learned to surf, beach camp, make a killer tomato sandwich, and truly had the time of his life.
Upon his return to Ohio, Bob joined the military and took tremendous pride in serving in the United States Army, where he was stationed in Fort Polk, Louisiana for much of his service. Following his military service, Bob attended and graduated from THE Ohio State University, and then proudly partnered with his father, Robert Sr. in running and managing Rower & Son Farm Market. It was a venture that he would spend the next 43 years nurturing, dutifully tending to his apple crops and serving generations of loyal customers. While the work was tiring, nothing invigorated him more than his apple orchard and refining the perfect blend apples to produce the best cider in the world. On Monday, October 4, at the age of 76, Bob passed away peacefully in his sleep at home, just how he said he always wanted to go. He lived his life fully, independently, and on his own terms. His family is grateful that his lifelong wish to never leave his home was fatefully honored. Bob was preceded in death by his mother, father, and sisters Mary Joan and Marjorie Yvonne. He is survived by his sister, Virginia
Maxfield of Woodland Park, CO; his daughter, Andrea Rower, his son-in-law, Nicholas Bruckelmeyer, and their daughter, Emerson Joy Bruckelmeyer of Bexley, OH; and many beloved nephews, cousins, and friends. Calling hours will be held on Sunday, October 17 from 2-5pm at Sheridan Funeral Home in Lancaster, OH. The funeral will also be held at Sheridan Funeral Home on Monday, October 18 at 10:30am, followed by a graveside service at Stuckey Cemetery. All are welcome to join a Celebration of Life luncheon at the Downtown Bistro following the service, which, weather permitting, will be held on the patio due to COVID. The family respectfully requests that masks are worn by all guests, and that social distancing and hand sanitization protocols are followed. In memoriam, loved ones
are welcome to send flowers or to make donations in his name to “Music and Memory” (https://musicandmemory.org), an organization that brings music to patients suffering from Alzheimer’s, Dementia and other cognitive and physical
difficulties.