Weigandt, Longtime Coach and Teacher at UW-Whitewater, Dies
Whitewater, Wis.--Robert George Weigandt, age 94, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 26, 2008, at Fairhaven Residential Community.
He was born February 5, 1914, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the son of George and Elizabeth (Felker) Weigandt, immigrant Germans from the Volga region of Russia.
Bob attended Oshkosh public schools and received bachelor’s and mater’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While an undergraduate at the University, he lettered in both basketball and football and was co-captain of the 1939 basketball team.
During World War II, he served as Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy. He taught school in Bloomer (WI) High School and Maquoketa (IA) Junior College after the war, and in 1949 he was math teacher and athletic director at Shawano High School. While at Shawano, he met an English teacher named Gloria Plonsky, whom he married on July 30, 1949.
Bob joined Whitewater State College, now the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, in 1950. He taught physical education and was head basketball, golf, and tennis coach, and assistant football coach.
He coached the University basketball team for 17 years, winning conference championships in 1952 and 1960. His 1952 team competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tournament in Kansas City.
Bob retired from the University as physical education emeritus professor in 1980, then worked in the Department of Continuing Education until 1995.
He was a member of First English Lutheran Church, the Kiwanis, and was an honorary member of the UW-Whitewater Athletic Hall of Fame.
Bob is survived by his wife, Gloria; two sons, David (Susan) of Richland Center and Paul (Susan Burleigh) of Rhinelander; two grandsons, Robert and Jacob of Rhinelander; and sister, Lena Shock of Oshkosh.
A funeral service will be held on Monday, March 3, 11:00 a.m., at First English Lutheran Church in Whitewater. The family will greet friends in the church for lunch after service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to: UW-Whitewater Foundation, Robert Weigandt Scholarship Fund, 800 W. Main St., Whitewater, WI, 53190.
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