Robert Sjolin

Bob Sjolin was born on the 24th of January 1939 in Oaks, North Dakota. He was the oldest of four sons, born to the union of his parents, Gustav & Lovella Sjolin, with 3 younger brothers, Bill, Chuck & Mark.

In 1950, the family moved to the Seattle area.

While in high school, Bob worked at the local bowling alley, setting bowling pins. Then after Bob graduated from Renton High, he began working in the mail room for the Pacific Northwest Bell phone company, working his way up the ranks for his eventual position as an Electrical Technician and instructor.

Bob was part of the team that designed the engineering allowing for the conversion from rotary phones to digital after which he spent the next few years as an Instructor, training the next generation of employees on the new technology.

Meantime, Bob was on a bowling league and this is where he met his wife Charlotte.

They were married Saint Patrick’s Day, on the 17th of March 1961 and with this marriage, Bob became a father of three: Rick, Vicki & Bill, and then they completed their family with Patricia in 1963.

The family first lived in Renton. Then, while concurrently working a full-time job, Bob designed a new family home, which was built with the assistance of family and friends from the bowling league, who also happened to specialize in construction.

The family moved into their home in 1966 upon completion, which remained Bob’s home for the past 52 years.

Bob retired in 1992 and pursued his hobbies as an avid researcher, exploring his family’s genealogy and a model train collector. He built his own model railroad set, which was named “The Great Fuss & Bother”, which was officially registered with the National Model Railroad Association – to which he was a life time member.

Bob is preceded in death by his parents Gustav and Lovella, his brother Bill, brother-in-law Robert and his loving wife of over 50 years, Charlotte.

He is survived by his 4 children: Rick, Vicki, Bill and Patty, his brothers Chuck and Mark, as well as 3 generations of grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at Edline-Yahn & Covington funeral chapel at 10 am on Friday, January 11, 2019.

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