Robert Bieren

Robert Marcus Bieren passed away October 30, 2019, one day after his 70th wedding anniversary to his beloved wife, Alice. Fortunately, we celebrated that milestone in late September with family and friends. Bob was born September 30, 1926 in Yakima, WA to Peter and Anna (Lies) Bieren. Most of his life was spent in Yakima except for short times in Ellensburg and California. He had three older sisters – Margaret Berriman, Johanna Benko, and Florence Jensen. Bob went to St. Paul’s School for eight years, then Marquette High School for two years, and Yakima High School. He also spent some time at Yakima Junior College. Shortly after the start of World War II, five of Bob’s friends and he went to Seattle and enlisted in the Navy. From there they went to Farragut, Idaho for basic training. After two months he was sent home because the Navy found out he was only 16 - too young to enlist. He went to Seattle during the summer and worked in the shipyards, building destroyers. The following year, Bob worked after school and Saturdays for Pacific Trust. He was inducted into the US Army and went to Camp Roberts in California for basic training. When Bob came back from the war, he started building houses. He helped build the new City Hall in Yakima and then went to work in Coulee City on the Bacon Tunnel. He got a job at Crystal Linen Supply and worked there for 38 years. Bob met Alice Greiff in high school. According to him, “At first she thought I was a jerk. But after she went out with me, she fell for me like a ton of bricks.” Alice will neither confirm nor deny this assertation, just laughs every time he says it. They married October 29, 1949, in Spanaway, Washington. Bob always wanted Alice to have flowers. He brought her bouquets on a regular basis, all the way up to their 70th anniversary when he ordered her three dozen pink roses. A year after their marriage, their daughter Linda was born and two years after that, their daughter Kathy was born. Our favorite memories as a family are of camping trips, waterskiing on countless weekends, trips to national parks and Disneyland, and school clothes shopping in Portland every summer. Bob was very active in the Catholic church. He was an usher for over 50 years and an officer in both the Third Degree and the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus. He received the Grand Knight Award in 1993 and was selected Knight of the Year in 2002-2003. He also volunteered countless hours building ramps for disabled veterans, for disabled children through Children’s Wishes & Dreams, and for many other people with mobility issues. Bob had many titles in his life – son, brother, husband, father, salesman, Knight, carpenter, volunteer. But the title he most cherished was being “Grandpa Bob” to his four grandchildren: Pete, Julia, Jeff, and Chris. He was an amazing grandpa. He loved taking his grandkids to the park, eating out at fun places, teaching his grandchildren how to fish, sledding, and catching frogs. He made a special point to be at all his grandchildren’s birthday parties, baseball tournaments, golf tournaments, track meets, and band performances – even in the rain and snow - and even though he lived 200 miles away from them. Every summer, we went on vacation with him to the Oregon coast. And every Labor Day weekend for 30 years, we camped at Sawmill Flat Campground on the Chinook Pass Highway. He and Grandma Alice make their grandkids feel very special. To this day, the grandkids want to spend every Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter and birthday with Grandpa Bob and Grandma Alice. Bob’s parents preceded him in death, as well as his three sisters, his father- and mother-in-law, Hans and Helen Greiff, his brothers-in-law Carl Greiff and Chris Jensen, and sister-in-law Shirlee Greiff. Bob is survived by his wife Alice; his daughter Linda and her husband Varnel Williams of Moscow, ID, and his daughter Kathy Johnson, her puppy Sheeba and all her kitties, of LaVernia, TX. He is also survived by his greatly loved grandkids: Pete and his wife Stephanie Williams of San Diego, CA; Julia and her husband Izak van Rensburg, of Kenmore, WA; Jeff Williams and his fiancée Katie Linnemeyer, of Coeur d’Alene, ID; and Chris Williams of Milwaukee, WI and his girlfriend Elizabeth Tuesley, of Bellevue, WA; and Rory and her husband Jim Thompson, of Columbia, CA. He has eight great grandkids: Lana and Zola van Rensburg, Archer and Lynlee Williams, Addy Linnemeyer Moore, Aliana Works, Sadie Thompson, and Kyah Jesse, with whom he shared a birthday. Bob is also survived by his brothers- and sisters-in law John Greiff, Sylvia and Don Wilson, and Delsa Greiff, as well as many nieces and nephews. God Speed Dad/Grandpa Bob. We love you. A Memorial Mass will be held November 27, 2019, at 2:00 pm at Holy Family Church. (Please note time change.) In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Children’s Wishes and Dreams, PO Box 8355, Yakima, WA 98901. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Robert Bieren, please visit our flower store.