Robert Carl Radmacher

In preparing to write this, I was informed that an obituary should be short and sweet and not a novel. Well, I often begin texts and emails with, ‘I apologize in advance for the novel’, so why would an obituary for my Gramps be any different? Besides, (in my personal opinion of course, I am biased after all), he’s just too special of a guy to put into ‘50 to 450 words’.

But if reading is not your thing and you’re looking for the standard information one would find in an obituary, see below:

Robert Carl Radmacher died on October 9th, 2025 due to natural causes.

Robert (or better known as ‘Bob’) was born in Chicago, Illinois to Karl and Irma Radmacher, on December 31, 1936. His family moved to Michigan and then California when he was 5, where he remained the rest of his life.

Bob was in the profession of sales, as well as horse breeding, training and showing.

Bob was preceded by his mother, father and brother Frank. He was survived by his wife Pat, daughter Darcy, granddaughters Tara and Ashley, and great-grandsons Jaden and Lyrik.

At his request, the family has made alternative arrangements in lieu of a funeral/memorial service.

Now, for the rest of you that don’t mind taking the time to read and want to learn about what a special guy my Gramps was, this is for you:

Robert Carl Radmacher entered into eternal rest on October 9th, 2025, due to failure of the heart. This is actually quite poetic and definitely fitting, as he lived his life to the fullest and gave it and everyone in it, all he had, with ‘all of his heart’. So it’s no surprise, that after 88 heart filled years, it could give no more…

That precious heart began to beat on December 31st of 1936 (also quite fitting, that a person such as he, should enter this world on a night of such celebration). Robert, (or ‘Bob’ as so many fondly remember him), was born in Chicago Illinois to Karl and Irma Radmacher, immigrants from Germany. The change of spelling in his father’s name as Bob’s middle name, is just one of the many examples of how American his parents were determined to become and honored to be. In turn, this is what set the course for the life Bob lived, and what made him into the patriot that he was.

It began with watching his parents fulfill their ‘American dream’ by moving the family out west to California. This was followed up by seeing just how serious being an American could be, after living in San Diego amongst cannons, military trucks, black-out shades, and a German mother without papers, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. And although San Diego left Bob with a love for the beach and wonderful memories, it led to further obstacles to overcome in achieving their dreams, when the damp and humid air caused health problems for Bob, forcing the family to move inland. This move however, expanded their American dream, when they purchased a rural 1.5 acre piece of land filled with avocado trees. This move was the beginning of Bob’s love for the country life and it provided many of the pieces that built the foundation for Bob becoming the man he’d eventually be.

Having been laid off from an aircraft company once the war had ended, it was time for Bob’s father to find new employment. His ambition didn’t stop with becoming an American citizen, moving out west to California, or even becoming a home and land owner; he now wanted to become a business owner as well, so they purchased a milk route and old truck. Watching the efforts, struggles and challenges overcome by his father and seeing the support his mother provided (physically, mentally and emotionally), were what instilled a strong dedication and work ethic in Bob, that he would eventually become known for.

Building upon his foundation, was the arrival of his grandfather from Germany, to live with the family. It wasn’t long before he was sharing with Bob and his younger brother Frank, his painting and many crafts (contributing to Bob’s creativity), gardening and farming (that Bob would eventually do on his own land). Soon after, the arrival of more family members meant more help with the milk route, allowing Karl to return to his primary trade as a tool-maker and pursue a part-time career selling life insurance (Bob followed in his father’s footsteps, throughout his career, by combining sales, engineering/design, farm life and entrepreneurship). And furthering the idea of thinking and dreaming big, was watching his parents build this country place into a kid’s paradise as they built a small swimming pool, bath house, sports courts, aviaries, fish pond, lath-house, lawn area for camp-outs, soap-box derbies, dogs, cats, a donkey and two horses; all things that would end up making Bob, Bob (he loved the water, fishing, camping, cars, and animals).

When Bob was 16, Karl was transferred to an Aerospace firm, for an engineering position, in Pomona, east of Los Angeles. This led to their move to the small town of Covina and Bob further stepping into his identity and meeting the great love of his life, Patricia King.

Now, Bob’s brother was quite the writer and documenter of family history, so I’ll let him tell the story for a bit (the following paragraphs are from pieces of the family story he wrote, that referenced his brother Bob):

“Bob was now 16 years old, the new kid at Covina High School and almost immediately in trouble for his ‘nonconforming’ haircut with long sideburns, swept back ‘fenders’ and ‘ducktail’ (a good visual is Fonzi in Happy Days). Most of the boys in Covina had flat-tops or crew-cuts so Bob definitely was the proverbial ‘onion in the Petunia patch’. Irma marched down to the school, met with the boy’s dean and, as a result, Bob’s appearance was suddenly acceptable. Bob was driving and soon gained the reputation at school for being the guy with the ‘coolest’ customized cars in Covina complete with high gloss, lacquered paint jobs, lowered chassis, striping, spinner hubcaps, loud mufflers, lighted wheel wells and even very hot flame jobs. His customized series of ‘41 Mercury, ‘49 Chevy, ‘54 Mercury and ‘58 Impala cars were the talk of Covina and envied by many gawking teenage boys. Bob was also an excellent trumpet player, played in the school band, and in ‘54, joined a group of fellow musicians, calling themselves the ‘Vagabonds’. Not your normal ‘garage band’, but instead consisted of piano, drums, standup bass, trumpet, trombone, saxophone and clarinet. They specialized in Big Band music as well as Dixieland jazz and were hired to play school dances, sock hops, parties, weddings, and became very popular and busy. Bob also was the varsity fullback for the Covina High School football team and earned a reputation for being a no nonsense, hard nose ball carrier, and blocker on some very strong and winning Covina teams. Rough tumble football was the perfect sport for him. (One of my favorite stories of his was when he’d run to the locker at halftime to change into his band uniform to play the half-time show, then back to return to the game) After graduation in 1954, Bob enrolled in Mount San Antonio College to further his education and his AA degree. During that time, he also joined the naval reserve to fulfill his military obligation. In 1957 he met and started dating Patricia King, still at Covina high school with her good friend and classmate Charlotte White (who was the reason for Pat meeting Bob and who would later become her sister-in-law when she married Bob’s brother, Frank). Bob was now working as a checker at Market Basket and learning the grocery business.

Bob and Pat were married in Covina on April 23, 1960 and moved to an apartment in San Gabriel along with Bob’s bright red Austin Healey roadster. Their baby daughter Darcy was born on Karl‘s birthday, August 20, 1961 (50 years later to the day). They moved to an apartment in Orange, then bought their first new house in Sylmar and worked hard to add landscape improvements. At that time, Bob was working for DiCarlo Bread Company, following in the food-related business. In 1964, Bob was hired by Lawry’s and the family moved north to a new home in San Jose. As a young girl, Darcy fell in love with Horses to the extent that Bob and Pat started thinking about moving to the country for more space to board and train riding horses.

In 1972, Bob, Pat and Darcy sold their house in San Jose and purchased a 5 acre horse ranch in the nearby San Juan Bautista. Bob changed jobs and started work with Albertsons markets. Initially, they simply wanted to own and train a couple of riding horses, especially for Darcy. As time passed, their interests and energies were directed toward breeding and training Arabian show horses with the goal of possibly entering and showing horses competitively, so they built a bigger barn and geared up in a big way.

In 1982, Bob, Pat and Darcy were making great strides at their San Juan Bautista Ranch with the birth of a promising young Arabian colt which they named ‘Fame VF’ (the VF for Valhaven Farms, the name of their farm). From a young age, he had the disposition and all the desirable physical attributes of a superior Arabian show horse. As he grew and matured, they teamed up with a professional trainer to maximize his potential in the show-ring. Bob and Pat were what is called ‘backyard breeders’ as compared to very wealthy owners, such as Wayne Newton, Diane Sawyer, Mike Nikols, and Patrick Swayze. In what could be compared to a ‘David and Goliath’ story, in 1987, Fame VF competed in the U.S. National Championships against all of the ‘star-power’, millionaire competition, defied the odds and took home the trophy, ribbons and accolades as the ‘1987 National Champion Halter Stallion’ – the top honor in the Arabian horse world! It was a great triumph against what seemed insurmountable odds.

(Around that same time) Darcy‘s first daughter, Tara, was born on September 21, 1984 and her younger sister, Ashley, was born on June 13, 1987. Bob and Pat were now grandparents.

In 1991, Bob and Pat moved from San Juan Bautista to a ranch in La Cresta (Southern California), bringing along a dozen Arabian horses to occupy the barn. At this time, Bob was employed by MD Barns, marketing, (designing) and selling barns and equestrian shelters throughout (the area). He was also tending to the needs of the horses, which was hard work, required constant attention, and consumed a lot of his time. During this period, Bob and Pat bread and owned another premier Arabian stallion, Desert Heat VF (the son of Fame VF), who won the ‘US National Yearling Halter Championship’ in 1995, the ‘US National 3-Year Old Fraternity Halter Championship’ in 1997, followed by the ‘Canadian National Halter Championship’ in 2002. Those were amazing accomplishments to have bread and owned two champions at that level. In 1995, Bob and Pat downsized their horse operation and moved to the wine country in Temecula with smaller horse accommodations, a grapefruit tree orchard, a two level ranch house, mature trees and peaceful country setting (pretty special that his last ranch would have similar characteristics of the first one in his life). Bob then initiated his own consulting business specializing in equestrian facility designs and products.

On February 15, 2006, Tara’s son Jaden was born and became a bright light to the family. In addition, Bob and Pat, (the teenagers who dated back in the 50s) suddenly became great grandparents.

Bob retired, but stayed busy working on his property, traveling with Pat, fishing when possible, and generally living the good life. “

Thanks Uncle Frank! I’ll take it from here…

Bob went on to become one of the greatest influences in Jaden’s life, especially when it came to football (he was practically Jaden’s own personal coach and definitely his biggest fan)!

In 2013, Bob and Pat decided it was time to retire completely (maintaining the property was still a full time job). They sold the ranch and bought their final home, in a 55+ community in the suburbs. Bob became very well known at their clubhouse gym, for his intense workout routines and was often approached by others wanting some coaching and guidance.

Bob had always been very active and extremely dedicated to working out, which kept him healthy as a horse (no pun intended) - to the point he even survived cancer! This is why, when Covid hit and he was forced into a sedentary lifestyle, his health rapidly declined.

Unbeknownst to him (and only found in the last six months before his passing), he was born with a hole in his heart. Being a dreamer, an idealist, an American patriot at heart but still a stubborn-particular-detail oriented-routine-perfectionist-German deep down, a musician, an athlete, a sentimentalist, a country, sales, horse and family man - all powered that great heart of his, through 88 epic years, despite it’s defect. But when he was no longer able to ‘live his life to the fullest’, his heart decided it was time to start winding down (I believe he would have lived to just shy of 103 like his mother, otherwise). The last five years were pretty hard on him, watching himself deteriorate and no longer able to do the things he loved. The music of life had begun to fade.

But the Lord blessed him with an ‘encore’ so to speak….

Music was one of his greatest passions; from playing his trumpet in the band, dancing, concerts, watching YouTube videos of his favorite artists, blasting his favorite songs on the stereo, and finally, with the help of Alexa (still blaring loudly of course) when he could no longer do it himself…he even took his last breath while Willie Nelson radio played, with his wife holding his hand, and daughter and granddaughter by his side).

That little blessing, his ‘last song’, was becoming a great-grandfather to a great-grandson once more, on September 13, 2024. That precious baby, along with his mother Ashley, moved in with Bob and Pat, shortly after he was born, while she prepared to move out of state, and so she could help out her grandparents until she moved. He brought so much joy, so many smiles, so much awe and excitement back into Bob’s life. Little did everyone know just how meaningful and special that time would be, as it would turn out to be Bob’s last year…but even more so, how special his last ‘lyric’ was, Lyrik Asher that is (and how special that name will now be)!

And now, we’ll end with this…one of Bob’s greatest memories (and how he wants his life celebrated)…

On a family camping trip to Yosemite, Bob, his dad, and his brother Frank, hiked to the top of half dome and dangled their feet over the edge. As they sat there, taking it all in, looking down at what they had accomplished, a jet flew underneath their feet!

This is why, (in addition to the fact that he and Pat despise funerals and feel they’re barbaric), he has requested a hike up half-dome *on his behalf*, which his great-grandson Jaden (and anyone else up to the task) will pursue next year…he was after all, no ordinary man, so how could his final request, his end of life celebration, be ordinary, right?

With that, may you ’Rest In Peace’ Robert Carl Radmacher • ‘Bob’• Dad • Gramps • Papa

(🎶 Cue Willie Nelson's, ‘The Party’s Over’…followed by ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ by Johnny Maestro…and end with ’Danny Boy’…per his request 🎶 and although he didn’t serve in war, I believe ’Taps’ would be fitting, as he played it for so many on his trumpet)