Robert 'Bob' Laitinen, age 82, passed away September 16, 2024, at Oak Park Place in Burlington WI.

Bob was born the youngest of five children to John and Ruth Laitinen of Peabody, MA.  The family would later move to South Effingham, NH. Bob found his passion for carpentry while working for his dad.  After he graduated from high school, he attended Manchester Community College where he earned his associate's degree in construction. He was drafted into the Army shortly after. He served his country as a Military Policeman for 2 years.

He met his wife Wini while serving in the Army at Fort Monroe, VA.  After they married, they moved to Milwaukee and started their family.

Bob enjoyed all the work opportunities available in Milwaukee.  He began his career by working as a carpenter for Selzer-Ornst Construction and later for JFK Builders. When the home building market cooled in the 80's, he took a job as a maintenance technician at Aldrich Chemical. He enjoyed working at Aldrich in many different roles until his retirement. Bob always worked hard to make sure that his family was well taken care of so side jobs were a constant throughout his career.  Bob had a strong work ethic and truly got satisfaction from a hard day's work however he was no workaholic by any means.

Bob always made time for fun with family and friends; there were countless family camping and fishing trips and dozens of Milwaukee Brewer baseball games, the list goes on and on. After work, he would often take his kids swimming, sledding or ice skating or help them with their homework.

Later in life, he enjoyed traveling, biking, golfing, watching sports - grandkids and professionals! You could often find him relaxing on his front porch enjoying a Miller Genuine Draft and visiting with the neighbors as they stopped by.

After his marriage ended, he was blessed to meet his longtime girlfriend, Colleen. Together they enjoyed everything life has to offer.  He loved her and relished every moment they spent together.

Bob was diagnosed with dementia in his later years. Despite his diagnosis, he was determined to do everything in his power to maintain his memory and health for as long as he could.  True to his nature, he appreciated each day as a blessing from God throughout his entire illness.

Bob was deeply loved by many and will be missed.  He loved his family and friends and was very proud of his children and grandchildren. He had many roles throughout his life, but his favorite role was being a dad and a 'gramper'.

Bob is survived by his sister, Sandra (Fred) Murch; his children, Debra (David) Ceccato, Daniel (Evangeline) Laitinen, Pamela (Henry) Petrick; his grandchildren, James Petrick, Jonathan Ceccato, Ahrazhelle (Daniel) Confalone, Thomas Petrick, Josephine Laitinen; his great granddaughter, Quinn Petrick; and his many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.

Bob's family would like to express their gratitude to the staff at Oak Park Place in Burlington for all their love, care and support.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer's Association.

https://www.alz.org/get-involved-now/donate

Visitation will take place on Tuesday, September 24 from 2pm - 4pm with a memorial service to begin at 4pm. Inurnment and full military honors will take place the following day at 1pm at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery.