Robert A. Hucke

Robert Albert “Bob” Hucke, 77, died November 20 2019 at hospice in Creve Coeur, Missouri, surrounded by family, after a short illness. A lifelong resident of Millstadt, Illinois, Bob was a husband, a father, a grandfather, a brother, a soldier, a farmer, a volunteer, and a friend.

Bob was born September 8 1942 at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville, first child of Albert John Hucke and Marie Ruth Hucke (née Rosso), both of Millstadt. He graduated from St. James Catholic School in Millstadt and Cathedral High School in Belleville. From 1964 to 1970 he served in the United States Army Reserve, attaining the rank of Sergeant. In civilian life, he worked the family farm while also joining the newspaper industry as a printer, first at the Millstadt Enterprise and then at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, becoming evening shift foreman. After leaving the newspaper in 2001, he purchased additional farmland and continued to grow wheat, corn, and soy, working hard until his last days.

Robert Hucke and Susan Catherine Riess were married July 17, 1971 at St. Louis Cathedral, and made their home on a quiet street in Millstadt. With his own hands, Bob soon built a larger house for their growing family. Many years later, he built a smaller home nearby for his and Sue’s retirement. Bob was also active in his community and his church, greeting parishioners for many years as an usher at St. James. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, and the St. James Over-50s Club. From 1965 to 2019 he was a volunteer firefighter with the Millstadt Union Fire Department, a member of the department’s Arson Team, and a Captain from 1970 to 1981. In the 1980s, Bob also drove for the Millstadt Ambulance Service. Carrying a pager at all times, he would drop whatever he was doing and rush to where he was needed most.

Robert is survived by his wife, Susan Hucke, of Millstadt, sons Matthew, Steven (Jacqueline), and Jonathan, grandsons Benjamin, Samuel, Connor, and Caleb, his brothers Albert (Carol), Lawrence, and Leon (Donna), his cousins, nieces, nephews, and great-nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents Albert and Marie, his in-laws Fredrick and Catherine Riess, his granddaughters Mia and Ellie Hucke, his uncles and aunts John and Charlene Hucke, Pauline Rosso, Julia and Edward Nogalski, Ruth and Armand Sliment, William and Elaine Rosso, Dominic and Shirley Rosso.

Visitation will be on Sunday, November 24 from 4pm to 7pm, at St. James Church, Millstadt. Funeral Mass will be on Monday, November 25th at 10am at St. James. Interment will follow at St. James Catholic Cemetery, Route 163 north of Millstadt. Memorial gifts in his honor may be made to St. James Catholic Church or to Evelyn’s House Hospice, www.bjchospice.org.