Robert C. Crave

Robert Crave

November 11, 1927 – July 22, 2023

Robert “Bob” Charles Crave passed away July 22 at the age of 95 at Riverwalk Assisted Living in Waterloo, WI.

Bob was born November 11, 1927 in Beloit, WI, the only son of Charles and Clara Miller Crave. He attended Brother Dutton Grade School and graduated from Beloit High School in 1947.

He graduated from the University of Wisconsin- Madison with a degree in Animal Husbandry in 1951. He remembered tuition being $25-$65 per semester. After graduation Bob was drafted into the US Marine Corps, serving honorably for two years in a helicopter supply depot in Santa Ana, CA.

On August 21, 1954, Bob married Sarajane George at St. Jude Catholic Church where he and Sara were active members. In Beloit, they raised their seven children and actively supported the children’s school, sports, music, and 4-H activities.

Bob’s professional career centered mostly around agriculture. Following his duties as a Marine, he worked for Plankinton Meat Packing Company in Milwaukee as a livestock buyer for two years before returning to Beloit, to operate for 19 years one of the first farms in Wisconsin to have what was then a modern milking parlor. After ending dairy production, Bob worked in construction and then as a procurement manager for Beatrice Dairy in Beloit. After retiring from Beatrice he worked for his sons on construction projects at Crave Brothers Dairy, driving back and forth to Waterloo almost daily, until he and Sara moved there in 2011.

Bob served his community as an active church member, a 4-H volunteer, and a board member of the Rock Electric Cooperative for 25 years.

Bob’s hobby was woodworking: from building a pony cart for a nickel when he was 10 years old to making more than 100 pieces of furniture for the homes and offices of family members and friends. He thought it was important for his kids to know “which end of a screwdriver to use” and passed on his fix-it and woodworking skills to his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Bob was preceded in death by his wife Sara in December 2021 after 67 years of marriage. He is survived by his seven children: Charles (Joni), George (Debbie), and Thomas (Janet) of Waterloo, Mary of Madison, Paul (Delwyn) of Beloit, Bridget (Glen Vilim) of Onalaska, and Mark (Tina) of Watertown; 19 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren; his sister Sister Carla Crave, CSA, and many Crave and George nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by sisters Ruth (J. William) Power, Lucille (Thomas) Freeman (Robert) Farrington, and Helen (Robert) Kinney, and in-laws Ben (Olive), William, and Richard (Marge) George and Rosemary Sheehan.

The family is grateful for the attention and compassionate care of the staff at Riverwalk for the past two years and Rainbow Hospice for the past several months.

Funeral services will be August 10 at Holy Family Parish, Waterloo campus. A visitation will be 9:30-11:00 at the church with a funeral mass at 11:00 celebrated by Fr. Vince Brewer. Instead of flowers, memorials may be made to Catholic Relief Services (support.crs.org) in memory of Robert Crave.

Burial will take place at Calvary Cemetery in Beloit later the day of the funeral.