Robert Tubandt,

Robert Paul Tubandt, Sr., age 96, passed away peacefully, on November 27, 2010, at St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, MN. Robert was born February 18, 1914, to Paul and Nellie (Dague) Tubandt in Tulare, SD. He attended school in South Dakota for eight years and then had to work at the family farm in Tulare. Bob met Ruby Rathe at a dance in Fredrick, SD in 1934. He was working at a Civilian Conservation Camp (CCC) by Aberdeen. On November 7, 1936 they were married and lived in Redfield. Bob worked for the railroad for a couple months. When work became scarce during the Great Depression, they heard about logging possibilities in the Sebeka and Wadena area. Bob and Ruby drove their 1929 Chevrolet pulling a small trailer with a bed, dresser, and seven hens in a crate. With the hens laying eggs for them and five dollars in cash, they made the trip through a snowstorm to their new home, a rental house, two miles east of Oylen, MN. The rent was $100 a year. Bob did logging in the area, which consisted of hauling logs to sawmills for $9 a week. Shortly after the two girls were born, Myrna in 1939, and Joyce in 1940, in Oylen, the family moved to the Wadena-Sebeka area. In 1940, on U.S. Highway 71, seven miles north of Wadena, on a 140 acre farm the girls were joined by two brothers, Bob in 1943 and Don in 1946. Bob and Ruby farmed, and Bob worked at the Ford dealership in Sebeka from 1954 to 1955. He worked at the Jack Boyer dealership from 1956 to 1957, selling Packard, Pontiac, and Studebaker cars. He then drove a bulk truck for a couple years for Phillips 66, and drove a cement truck for John Olson & Sons. In 1964 Bob and Ruby, and two of the kids, Joyce and Don, moved to Yuba City, CA where Bob worked as maintenance man at the school district for 14 years. Retiring from their jobs, they purchased a motor-home in 1974 and traveled. They decided after living in California, for 42 years, to move back to Minnesota in 2007. Bob was an avid believer in staying in shape – and no smoking! He rode a stationary bike almost daily. He was a great family man who loved his wife, kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, and great-great-grandkids. He believed in honesty, responsibility, and treating people fairly. Memorial services will be held at a later date.

Robert Tubandt,

February 18, 1914 - November 27, 2010