Robert Henry Fleming

MADISON - Robert Henry Fleming, 88, of Green Bay, Mercer and Madison Wis., passed away Aug. 17, 2023, at Agrace HospiceCare in Fitchburg.

He was born Sept. 14, 1934, to Edward and Marscleite (Williams) Fleming of Highland. Later the family moved to create a lively family home of 11 children on S. Henry St. in downtown Madison.

Starting work at age 9, Bob hawked Sunday newspapers on Madison’s Capitol Square after doing his duty as an altar boy at St. Raphael Cathedral. The pious church role didn’t stop him from sneaking into movie matinees through a back door now and then, as he enjoyed telling his grandchildren.

Bob graduated from Edgewood High School in 1953 and married Mary Ellen Walker on June 26, 1954, at the Church of St. James. The family grew to three children and in 1961, Bob and Mary Ellen bought a house on Groveland Terrace.

Much like his own childhood home, Groveland Terrace became a hub for neighboring family and friends. Always ready to share a kind word, keen observation or big hug, Bob welcomed his beloved siblings, neighbors, family friends and anyone else who stopped for fresh hot coffee or cold beer in the neighborhood just south of La Follette High School, where the close-knit families brought up their kids together. Bob’s generous spirit and comforting wisdom could make anyone’s day better. And then there was his great cooking.

Bob was proud to be a Madison firefighter, thriving on dedication to service despite 24-hour shifts and the emotional toll of the job. At the station he made lifelong friends who, like his family appreciated his humor, broad knowledge, warmth and faith.

In the 1980s, as Bob's children made their own way in Madison and abroad, he built a second home with his own hands, the help of firefighter friends and construction business buddies on the shore of Fisher Lake in northern Wisconsin, outside Mercer.

The house became a treasured retreat for his family and friends, and after Bob and Mary Ellen separated in 1995, it was Bob’s home for much of the rest of his life. He worked on the house, fished on the lake and bantered with his growing circle of friends in town.

His visiting family enjoyed days full of love and laughs as Bob caught most of the fish, presided in the kitchen, ruled the card table and led lively debates. Bob embraced any topic but discussed sports, politics, food and history with particular passion and deep knowledge.

In 2017, Bob moved to Green Bay to be with his longtime partner, Nancy Trainor. They’d met in high school and reconnected after Bob was on his own. Nancy became his compass.

Even before that, Bob’s body had too often failed him - forcing his early retirement in 1991 from the fire department job he’d loved for three decades - but his resilience always pulled him through. Heart surgeries, aortal aneurysm, Parkinson’s disease. He outlasted many of the people and places he’d loved. Finally, this long life came full circle back to Madison after a fall at home caused a brain injury, leading to his death in hospice.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents and siblings Doyle Fleming, Gene Fleming and Dean Fleming; sisters, Mary Phelan, Ann Krause and Margaret Kalscheur. He is survived by his partner Nancy Trainor; brothers John (Luainne) Fleming and Jim (Joan) Fleming; sisters Susie Oehrlein and Sally (Dick) Christenson; sister in-law, Patty Walker; children Daniel Fleming (Karla Carrillo), Lisa Larson (Jim Sutton) and Cathleen Fleming (Tim Kelley); grandchildren Laura Larson, Matthew Larson, Jacob Fleming, Nicole Fleming and Maxwell Kelley; five great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews; plus many in-laws and friends.

Special thanks to Agrace HospiceCare nurses and staff who cared for and comforted Bob in his final days of life.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH, 5101 Schofield St., Monona, at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. A Visitation will be held at the church from 9 a.m. until the start of the Mass. Burial will be at Resurrection Cemetery. A lunch will follow.  

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Madison Firefighters Local 311 Charities.In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Madison Firefighters Local 311 Charities.

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5420