Robert "Bob" Hesler

Robert L. Hesler, loving husband, father, grandfather, dog-lover, wood-worker, KU basketball fan and self-described long-haired wild man, died on December 30, 2017, in the Overland Park home he built 37 years ago. His life was full of family and colorful friends.

Bob was born in 1948 and spent his first few months at the Florence Crittenton Home in Kansas City. The luckiest day of his life came around ten months of age when Lillian and Delbert Hesler recognized that he was meant to be their son. Lil and Del brought Bob home to join daughter Mary Lil, who watched over him from the start by sleeping under his crib. Bob enjoyed an idyllic childhood in Fairway. He was the apple of Lil's eye, and summers were full of baseball with Del serving as a coach.

Bob married Ginny Bennett in 1976, and daughters Brooke and Erynn soon joined the two. Bob and Ginny enjoyed spending time at their lake house, evenings in the backyard watching the stars and disagreeing about politics. Although they entertained each other by singing unique renditions of old songs, they recently saw Bruno Mars in concert and danced the night away. Bob and Ginny constantly bantered, earning that routine the title of "The Bob and Ginny Show" by their daughters' friends. Bob spent his last night holding Ginny's hand.

To Brooke and Erynn, Bob was fun and big-hearted. He insisted that children should lick the bowl after mixing brownies, and he could not hold back tears when he saw Erynn cross the finish line of her marathons. But with the arrival of Elliot in 2010, Bob took on his favorite roll: Grandpa. Grandkids Lillian and Jonah followed. Against their mother's wishes, Bob made sure to slip each of them their first sips of Coca-Cola. As Bob was fond of saying, "if I had known how much fun grandkids would be, I would have had them first."

In 1977, Bob joined The Hesler Company, a small, thriving manufacturer’s representative firm founded in 1946 by his father, Del, and his uncles, Harold and Bill Hesler.  Bob spent 36 years with the firm, selling power plant equipment to clients like KCPL, Westar Energy, Black & Veatch, and Burns & McDonnell. It is unclear who was more proud when Bob joined the family firm, father or son. But one thing was certain: Del made sure Bob was well prepared—with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Kansas and three years as a staff engineer at Black & Veatch. Only then, did Del deem Bob ready to join the Hesler Company.  Bob was president of firm from 2000 to his retirement in 2013. But retirement did not sit well with Bob. In 2014, he joined Mechanical Sales Associates, a manufacturer’s representative firm, continuing to support power plant customers in Kansas City until his very last days.

If it was basketball season, you would find Bob and lifelong friend Mike "Taz" Waugh at Allen Fieldhouse. The two hippies also traveled the country over several Marches to watch NCAA tournament games. Even when the Jayhawks lost, Bob and Taz had a lively time. In 2015, the two took Elliot to his first KU basketball game. True to form, Bob returned Elliot with a bag of popcorn as big as the 5-year-old.

Bob is survived by his wife, Ginny, of Overland Park; daughters Brooke (Kyle) Ramsey of Lawrence and Erynn Hesler of San Francisco; grandchildren Elliot, Lillian and Jonah Ramsey; sister Mary Lil (J. Edward) King of Overland Park; family member Jackie (Donald) Smoot of Illinois; cockapoos Douglas and Lucy; and numerous other extended family members and friends. He is preceded in death by his parents, Lil and Del Hesler.

Visitation will be at 2 p.m., January 7, 2018, with a celebration of life to follow at 3 p.m. at Vista 154 at Ironhorse Golf Club, 15400 Mission Rd. Hippies, use side door.

Flowers may be sent to the Jonson County Funeral Chapel, 11200 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, KS, so that they can be delivered to Iron Horse.