Rev. Robert A. Streveler

Father Robert (Bob) Alois Streveler

1943 – 2020

Father Robert (Bob) Alois Streveler, 77, Marathon passed away unexpectedly Friday May 29, 2020.  He was born March 20, 1943 in Wausau, son of the late Michael and Anna (Osterbrink) Streveler.

Father Bob attended grade school at St. Robert’s School in Halder and later attended Holy Cross Seminary in La Crosse, for high school and college. He studied theology at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest for the La Crosse, Diocese on May 24th, 1969 at his home parish St. Patrick’s in Halder.

He served as associate pastor at St. Joseph in Menominee and at St. Luke’s in Boyceville until 1970, and St Peter and Paul in Wisconsin Rapids until 1973.  In 1973 he became associate pastor at St. Bronislava in Plover as well as being the chaplain for the Christian Brothers and teaching at Pacelli and Assumption high schools.

His first parishes as a pastor were St. John the Baptist in Heffron and Guardian Angels in Almond, where he served from 1979 to 1985. In 1985 he became pastor at St. Marty, Help of Christians, in Greenwood and in 1989 he was named pastor of St. Therese in Schofield, then adding St. Agnes in Weston to his duties in 1999.  He spent 2002 through 2008 at St. Joseph’s in Black River Falls before relocating to St. John the Baptist in Edgar and adding Holy Family at Poniatowski to his duties in 2011.   In 2015 he retired and became the Priest in Residence at St. Anthony’s Spirituality Center, in Marathon. In his retirement he continued being on call at Aspirus Hospital and helped out in area parishes as needed.

Father Bob also enjoyed reading, biking, canoeing, and going on trips through out the United States, and was the chaplain for several pilgrimages to the Holy Land and various places in Europe.

Survivors include sister, Joyce Athmann, South St Paul, MN, brothers, Earl (Violet) Streveler, Edgar, Jim (Carol) Streveler, Brule, Ray (Julie) Streveler, Edgar.  He is also survived by 15 nieces and nephews and many great and great-great nieces and nephews.  Besides his parents he is preceded in death by a brother-in-law Gerald Athmann.

Visitation will be held at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Halder from 3:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday June 2, 2020 with strict social distancing practices enforced. Due to the Covid restrictions currently in place, a private Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St Patrick Catholic Church on Wednesday with burial to follow in the parish cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, a charitable memorial is being established in Father Bob’s name.

Peterson/Kraemer Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.  Online condolences may be expressed at www.petersonkraemer.com

Following is an ode Father Bob composed in May of 1999 in grateful appreciation to his beloved mother.

Thank you, mother. Thank you for giving me birth On the worst night of the winter And having the good humor to laugh about it. Thank you, mother. For giving us time to laugh and play In the midst of hay that needed making And the cows that needed milking. Thank you, mother. Thank you for helping me learn responsibility “One egg out of each dozen is yours And if you don’t take care of them they’ll molt.” Thank you mother. Thank you for giving me the time to read And the time to dream dreams of Doing great and wonderful things. Thank you mother. Thank you for making that long trip To LaCrosse every chance that you had Thank you for supporting but not pushing. Thank you mother. Thank you for giving me the freedom To go out on Saturday nights and wise words About what’s on the inside being what’s important. Thank you mother. Thank you for listening through the early years Of my priesthood when I struggled with pastors And being told my dreams were foolish. Thank you mother. For being steadfast in your faith and caring. You supported each of us in our hopes And stood by us in our struggles. Thank you mother. For your strength and wisdom. You knew Luther was right in some of his ideas Long before the Pope admitted it. Thank you mother. For trips to Ohio and New Orleans and Florida, For fall foliage and fishing trips to Canada And that special trip to California. Thank you mother. For putting up with my anger and impatience, For nourishing my hopes and dreams And helping me to love and care and cry. Thank you mother. For giving me the foundation on which to build To be able to love my people And to say “I love you” to the people in my life. Thank you mother. I love you.