Robert "Bob" Earl Zerneke

Bob passed away peacefully at Home Again Assisted Living in Cambridge after bravely battling cancer and an abdominal aortic aneurysm.  His family gratefully thanks Home Again Cambridge and Rainbow Hospice for their compassion, loving care and support.

Bob was born in Fond du Lac, WI, the eldest of 4 children, to the late Robert, Sr. and Irma (Stephany) Zerneke.  Bob completed a 4-year machinist apprenticeship at Giddings & Lewis prior to completing a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at UW-Madison. He worked at Unisys, originally Sperry Univac for almost 30 years, where he was named worldwide sales person of the year for new accounts in 1991. Early in his career at Sperry, he programmed the machines that cut high precision parts for the Polaris missiles and wing components for fighter jets. He completed the last 10 years of his career at Compuware in Madison, WI.

Bob loved to travel all throughout Europe, the Caribbean Islands, Jamaica, across America and especially Hawaii. He enjoyed spending time at Ft. Myers Beach in the winter soaking up the sunshine and walking in the sand. Bob was an avid Packer and Badger fan. He wore his lucky Vince Lombardi sweatshirt while watching the Packers play and was convinced the team played better when he did (especially against the Bears).

Bob was a member of Lake Ripley Country Club where he enjoyed many years of golfing with family and friends. Bob always said it was better to be lucky than good and that showed in his game. Lucky Bob scored two holes in one during his golfing career, the first on hole #3 at Stoughton CC in 2001 and his second in 2018 on hole #12 at LRCC. Bob loved to bowl, was an avid card player, master jigsaw puzzle solver and a champion cribbage player.

Bob is survived by the love-of-his-life, Joan (Soehnlein) Zerneke, two children Lisa (Michael) Maza, Eric (Christy) Zerneke, 4 grandchildren, Andrew (Andi) Maza, Nicholas Maza, Jonas and Emily Wood, and two great-grandchildren, Lucas and Rose.

A celebration of life will be held at Lake Ripley Country Club on Sunday, September 14, 2025 (Packers aren’t playing that day). There will be many appetizers, red and white wine, beer and sodas from 2-5pm. We hope you can attend. Wear bright and happy clothes. That would have made Bob happy.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations can be made to the Carbone Cancer Centers UW-Madison. https://secure.supportuw.org/give/?custom=med04&group=carbon

Nitardy Cambridge Funeral Home is assisting the family.