December 28, 2020 – West Bend, WI – Robert J. Nehm, a lifelong farmer, was born at home on his parents’ farm near Big Cedar Lake in 1928. He died on December 23, 2020 in Ripon, WI.
Robert was a gifted student who completed high school early. He started farming with draft horses. In 1960, he met his wife Kathleen, a native of West Allis. Together they shared a love of farming, gardening, and nature and raised five children on their dairy farm near Big Cedar Lake. They were proud of their herd of registered Holsteins. They farmed together for 60 years. Robert was adept at building and fixing just about anything. He remodelled part of the family home in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, teaching himself how to build with stone to create beautiful interior spaces.
He was very proud of his children, all of whom graduated from UW-Madison, and his grandchildren, who are now college students themselves. Robert enjoyed keeping up with current events, reading, and was always interested in learning new things.
Robert enjoyed attending Farm Progress Days with his children, and keeping up on the latest developments in agriculture. He liked to travel, taking long road trips with his wife to visit his grown children in other states, stopping to talk to farmers along his route about their farms. He liked Allis Chalmers tractors, and took pride in keeping them in working order himself. Some of them are still running after 70 years.
In 1990 the family moved to Green Lake to continue farming, with their son Carl taking a more active role in the new location.
The former Nehm farm near West Bend is now a conservation area with beautiful views overlooking Big Cedar Lake. Robert worked to ensure that the land would remain undeveloped for future generations to enjoy.
Up until two weeks before his death at age 92, Robert was still farming, including repairing machinery, working the fields on his tractor, watching over the animals, and helping his son Carl on the farm.
Robert is survived by his wife of 60 years, their five children, four grandchildren, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and their two children.
