Robert J. Gillig

Robert Joseph Gillig was born July 23, 1927, in Decatur, Indiana, to Leona (Harting) and Harmon Gillig. He passed away February 12, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Bob was a graduate of Central Catholic High School, Decatur, where he was a star basketball player. He enlisted in the Navy following graduation. He attended St. Joseph’s College, Rensselaer, Indiana. In 1948, he began his 40-year insurance career at Bankers Life in Chicago.  In 1962, he became a founder of Midwestern Life and Health Insurance Company, Green Bay, where his passion for the Green Bay Packers was born. He was a season ticket holder proudly attending the 1967, Ice Bowl. He loved taking family and friends to games at Lambeau Field.

Bob was married October 1, 1949, to Roberta Slamp. They divorced in 1980. Bob married Susan Nicholson September 28, 1985. She preceded him in death in December 2022. In retirement Bob and Susan traveled the world. Highlights included hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu at age 72, and a three-week trek in the Himalayas in Nepal.

Bob is survived by his daughter, Jann Slayton (Jim); stepsons, Dan, Tim (Megan), and Mike (Jenn) Nicholson; grandchildren, Stephanie Slayton, Joshua (Annie) Slayton, Emily Hummel (Neal), Elliott, Henry, Annika, Finn and Mitchell Nicholson. Bob was a proud great-grandfather of Cora, Amelia, Henry, and Rose Slayton and Griffin Hummel. He is further survived by his brother, Bill (Jan), Ft. Wayne, Indiana; as well as many nieces and nephews.

A special thanks to the staff at The Classic at Hillcrest Greens for their compassionate care.

Bob will be remembered as a kind and gentle man with a ready smile and laugh, who loved his family and valued his friends. He enjoyed golfing, canoeing, birding, cross country skiing (completing 15 Birkebeiners) and the Green Bay Packers.

A family memorial service will be held at a later date. In Bob’s honor, give a kind word and do a kind deed for someone in need. If you choose to give a memorial, the food pantry where Bob volunteered for many years will be grateful, First Presbyterian Church, 130 Central Street, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729.