Obituary for Robert Charles Dufek "Bob" at Feerick Funeral Home (2024)

Died April 3rd of complications from appendicitis. Born in 1939 to Charles “Chas” James and Margaret Peters Dufek in Milwaukee, he was the younger brother and best friend of Margaret “Marge” Ondrejka. He was my beloved father, and this portrait of his life is the hardest thing I have ever done.

Our family’s story is America’s dream. Bob’s maternal grandfather, Otto Peters, a woodworker and gifted woodcarver, came to this country from Germany, settling in Milwaukee. Bob’s father’s large, warm family, originally from Czechoslovakia, emigrated to the Lake Superior region near Ashland, with its various lake industries, fishing, shipping, and the coal docks. Bob’s father, Chas, one of 13 children, moved as a young man to Milwaukee and married. He and Margaret raised their two children here. Early on, Bob, hungry for knowledge and the world, and needing perhaps to have a little of his exuberance tamed, was sent to a private Catholic school, St. Norbert, in De Pere. From there, he went to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and, in the early 1960s, became the first in his family to earn a BA. He often said how proud he was that his daughter earned a Master’s degree, and his grandchildren are working towards advanced degrees in science and engineering.

Not long after graduating from college, Bob married and moved to New York City to hear real jazz, haunt the great museums, and explore the city’s streets with his camera. There he also discovered a lifelong fascination with motorcycles, and in 1967, he moved to Sea Cliff on Long Island to freelance at Cycle Magazine. His only child, I was born on Long Island, and when I was five, my father moved us to Milwaukee to be close to his parents, his sister and her family where he raised me as a single father over the next 15 years.

For more than 45 years, Bob was an industrial and commercial real estate broker, starting at the Polacheck Company, and moving on to several other firms, and then hanging his own shingle as Dufek Realty. He was mentor to a number of young brokers, who describe him as a master of the art of the deal. He was consistently at the top of the Milwaukee market – “an elephant hunter” in the real estate world.

Over the years Bob was also very active in his community – he belonged to Shorewood Men’s Club, Shorewood Tennis Club, Milwaukee Mensa. In addition to motorcycling, he kept a boat at the Milwaukee Yacht Club, worked on his golf game at Black Wolf Run, and recently discovered a passion for target-shooting with friends at the Waukesha Gun Club. He supported a number of charities.

Unconventional always, Bob had a wide range of interests. He subscribed to – and read – four newspapers and always had a stack of books by his chair. He was an atheist and active member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, even as he was contributing regularly to a fund for retired nuns. He held season tickets to the Milwaukee Bucks and was excited for every game. He was a regular fixture at Oakland Gyros – where he loved the food and the company.

What was he like? You couldn’t miss him in a crowd, walking tall, often with a giant Irish Wolfhound (the latest is “Spike”) at his side. A high-school friend once described him as a one-and-a-half sized All American Boy. And that is indeed a fitting description - even as he aged, Bob never wavered in his strength and singularity.

He leaves my family, granddaughter Gillian and grandson Reed and my husband Matthew; niece Patti Ondrejka and her family; many, many good friends; his giant companion, Spike. And me, his daughter, Laura Dufek St. John – I already miss his daily texts, discussing the world, getting advice, laughing about life’s constant chaos – yes, two toilets broke when I arrived at his house this week. I love you and miss you, Dad!

There will be a gathering to remember Bob, Tuesday, June 25, 2024, from 4:00-7:00PM, at Villa Terrace, 2220 N Terrace Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of these charities that were important to Bob.

Freedom From Religion Foundation – https://ffrf.org/donate

School Sisters of St. Francis Retirement Fund - https://www.sssf.org/Donate.htm