Obituary of Robert Prickett

Robert Alan Prickett of Cambridge, died suddenly the morning of November 9, 2009 at home at the age of 66. Bobby was born on Dec. 14th, 1942 to Robert and Marjorie Prickett in Grand Forks, ND. After some moving around, they moved to Middle River, MN, where they settled and raised Bobby and his brother, Jerry. After graduating in 1960, Bob served in the military from '61-'64. Bobby often shared memories of his many adventures growing up "up Nort" and enjoyed visiting his old friends yearly during "Goose Festival". He stayed a member of the Middle River Legion Post for 39 years. In 1968 Bob (Tony) married Sharon Beriou and they had the first of three daughters. He was a dedicated father devoting most of his time to his family and carrying on their traditions. He never missed a sporting event, school activity, or a chance to show his kids the 'scenic route'. Bob taught his children a strong work ethic, and the importance of a good education. It was also important to Bob to teach his children about being compassionate and generous toward those who were less fortunate. As his children grew and started families of their own, one of "Grandpa Bean's" favorite pastimes became attending his grandchildren's events and activities as well as most sports practices, so much so that the hockey team considered Grandpa Bob their mascot. Bob worked in the St. Francis School District for 30 years, teaching PE at the Bar None Boys Ranch and worked with Special Education students at St. Francis Intermediate High. The favorite part of his job was his one on one time working with students. After he retired Bob "worked" by helping Sharon with her daycare kids, where he really enjoyed his time with the kids, as they did with him. He was considered a second dad and grandpa to many children over the years. Bob loved nature and being outdoors. He dedicated much of his time and took pride in his yard and garden, and enjoyed sharing the fruits of his labor with others. He had many canoeing adventures with stories to tell later with his friends and his family. Bob and Sharon loved taking the 'back roads' and captured much of it in photographs, and like his life, never considered himself lost, just discovering a new road. He spent a lot of time with his friends at People's Café, and often came home with interesting or controversial topics from "the table". The basement was a place for Bob to surround himself with music, reviewing his record collection or finding songs to share. Often times we could hear Dad in the basement playing his guitar. Occasionally he would call us down to listen to a song that had especially struck a chord. He was an avid reader (Tribune, New Yorker, newest Gary Paulson book) and collected many books over the years. Bob was never caught without his camera, ready and able to capture all special moments (they were all special to him). His family and friends loved looking through his enormous collection of pictures during gatherings. Bob found sentimental value in many things and gathered a variety of mementos that represented every experience that was meaningful to him; hats, t-shirts, photos, news clippings, etc. He and Sharon spent a lot of time adding to their eclectic collections. Alaska played a big part in Bob's life. Because two of his children lived in Alaska, he navigated the Alaska Highway three times. Even though he didn't like his family living so far away, the lifestyle there fit perfectly with Bob's, and he encouraged his children to live where they were most happy. He willingly jumped into new experiences there and had many adventure stories from his trips, such as racing sled dogs, hauling wood with snow machine, a river boat trip on the Yukon River, and working as a dog handler at the Iditarod. Bob is survived by his wife Sharon of Cambridge, brother Jerry (Connie) Prickett of Thief River Falls; daughters Tanya (Jon) Korta of Galena, Alaska;, Tara (Brian) Guimont of Cambridge, Trisha (Carlin) Esmailka of Galena, Alaska; grandchildren Dylan, Kaleb, Kiana, Kylie, Brynna, Ian, and Lily. Bob was preceded in death by his parents Robert and Marjorie Prickett.