Robert “Bob” Dolan Wynn was a caring husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, caregiver, and friend to everyone he met. On October 31, 2023, at the Monument Health Sturgis Care Center, while holding the hand of one of his daughters, Kayleen, he joined the love of his life, Ruthie, in heaven.
Robert was born on June 22, 1927, in Guernsey, WY, to Alfred Wynn and Nellie Ferrero. As a young child he lived in Moskee, WY, and eventually settled in Spearfish, SD. In Spearfish he met the love of his life and married his lifelong partner, Ruth, for 64 glorious years. He was a loving father to three daughters: Kayleen Plunkett, Bonnie Cady, and Anita Larsen. Robert started his logging career at Homestake Forest Products and worked for many other logging companies throughout the area until an accident forced him into retirement. He then became the “head chef” for Ruthie at Ruthie’s Kiddieland Daycare, where for 25 years, they helped care for hundreds of children in the Spearfish area.
Robert loved playing cards with friends, camping, fishing, hunting, gardening, and watching the ball games (football and baseball). Robert loved the outdoors, and they knew every back road throughout the Black Hills. This love of the outdoors took the family camping, fishing and swimming at most of the area’s local lakes, but especially; Orman Dam, Angostura, Keyhole, Sheridan Lake, and Iron Creek Lake. Tent camping was an adventure and incites many amusing memories. Later in life they invested in their first camper, and they would pack up the grandchildren and head out to local lakes; still persevering through crazy weather, like when they experienced sister waterspouts on Orman Dam. Robert was a leisure fisherman and would cast a line in the water, put a bell on the end of the fishing poles, sit down in his lawn chair and wait. The bell would ring and off he’d run to reel in that epic catch of the day. Those memories of camping and fishing are forever embedded in our hearts. He also was an avid hunter, going on many adventures with Ruth north of the Black Hills to bag a deer to sustain his family.
Upon retiring from the daycare Robert and Ruth moved to Sundance, WY. Robert spent many hours working on their beautiful yard with flowers galore, chopping and gathering firewood for their woodstove, and helping Ruthie with their massive garden. Robert was always there to help Ruthie with whatever new thing she wanted to try out, whether it was a new way to keep deer out of the garden, a new recipe to try…and then modify, or canning something. Ruthie kept him busy, and it made him the happiest man in the world. Robert always made sure the candy bowl was full and he was known for his sweet tooth, which included two Hershey kisses before bed every night. Whenever the family gathered for holidays, no one left without being stuffed full of glorious food and beautiful memories.
In 2012, Robert and Ruth moved to Rapid City, where they continued their love for baking, which included hundreds of different types of cookies. Anyone who stopped by Robert would tell Ruthie, go get cookies out of the freezer and he insisted the cookies were to go home with them.
When Ruthie passed a few years ago from cancer, Robert’s heart was broken; and although he will be missed, his family is thankful they are together again sharing a romantic kiss, dancing the night away, but most of all fishing alongside that beautiful lake in that place we call heaven.
“We lived together in happiness, now we rest together in peace.”
Robert is survived by his three daughters, Anita (Curt Wolff) Larsen of Rapid City, Kayleen (Clark) Plunkett of Whitewood, Bonnie (Bart) Cady of Mills, WY; four grandchildren, Tristy Vazquez, Sheena (Brian) Cossette, Shane Boice, and Rhiannon Cady; seven great-grandchildren, Tori, Kaedyn, Alaina, Natalie, Alex, Liam and Reed.
Robert was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Ruth Ann Wynn; and one grandchild, Robert Cox.
In lieu of flowers, we would appreciate a donation be made to Meals on Wheels of Rapid City, on behalf of Robert Wynn.
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