Robert J. Bedard

PORT SANILAC- Robert J. Bedard liked to build. He built a multi-generational family, pounded hundreds of pounds of nails to turn a simple shelter into a lakeside compound and raised $144 million for universities and hospitals before selling millions in real estate for Chrysler Corp. Bob retired at the age of 74 from Chrysler Corporation, having loved every role he performed there with a passion for the automotive industry. He died June 8, 2023, at the age of 95 in the home he designed. Bob was born March 6, 1928, in Detroit, the youngest of seven children in an old Detroit French family. He began work – including sales and carpentry – while in elementary school. As a student at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School, Bob built tables and chairs for the school library. Building became his lifetime obsession. Bob joined the United States Marines straight out of Detroit’s Southeastern High School, intent on jumping out of airplanes. The Marines had other ideas, however, and after basic training assigned him to a colonel. They needed him for his writing, shorthand and typing. Later in life, the proud Marine seldom left home without a Marine cap. After his honorable discharge as a first lieutenant, Bob moved home to Detroit and started the first of his many successful professions, hitting the road to sell water heaters. In 1951, he met Mary Louise Iris Fournier at a club for eastside single Catholics. He turned on his side hustle as an Arthur Murray dance instructor in the Marines. Bob and Mary Lou married in 1953. They were married 69 years. Nights, Bob worked on his bachelor’s degree from the University of Detroit. He noticed the lack of communication among his peers. So, he started a newsletter. This led to master’s studies and a job building alumni relations for UD. He matriculated to donor relations and fundraising on a grand scale. A friend who had left UD recruited Bob to Loyola University in Chicago where he soon became an assistant vice president. Bob’s responsibilities grew to 17 university departments. He became favored as a speechwriter who was fast, on point and who peppered scripts with the speaker’s “pet words.” Around 1970, friends lured Bob back home to build a $25 million campaign for Mount Carmel Mercy Hospital. On summer weekends, Bob could be found with a hammer in hand at Port Sanilac, expanding the cottage his wife’s family owned. He drew up plans for local builders and had a running game with them, adding nails after they had finished for the day. Once he had moved to Port Sanilac, Bob joined the Sanilac Sportsmen’s Club where he was elected to the board, wrote the history of St. Mary’s Parish, procured a pumper-tanker for the Port Sanilac Volunteer Fire Department, and rode in parades in a motorcycle sidecar he built with his son, Mike. Bob is survived by his daughter Debra and her husband, Joe Grimm; son Mike and his wife, Susan Bevis-Bedard; three grandchildren: Daniel Grimm and his wife, Michele Lee Grimm; Steven Grimm, and Kelly Bedard. Dan and Michele’s son, James Robert, carries his great-grandfather’s name. Funeral Mass will be held at 11 A.M. on Friday at the Ave Maria Parish- St. Marys Catholic Church in Port Sanilac, with visiting at the church from 10- 11 A.M. Friday morning. Fr. Donald J. Eppenbrock will officiate. Military Honors will be provided by the Croswell American Legion immediately following the funeral mass. Interment will be in the All Saints Cemetery in Waterford. Memorials may be made to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.

Robert J. Bedard

March 6, 1928 - June 8, 2023