Funeral arrangements are set for this Saturday for a Manitowoc man who used his own personal 13-and-a-half-year battle with stage-4 cancer to help hundreds of others dealing with the disease.
62-year-old Robby “Gumby” Roseff died Thursday night at his residence.
Through the efforts of Rob and his wife Denise and their Gumby’s Club Fore A Cure, nearly 600 other people received checks totaling almost $600,000.
Rob and Denise stood up for Randy and Connie Heinzen’s wedding 33 years ago.
Heinzen spoke of some of Rob’s impact on this community even before Gumby’s club was formed.
“He was involved in Heart-a-Rama for 30 years, he was involved in Lakeshore Weekend for Kids for 20+ years, helped out at the Kenny’s (Athletic) Club doing different things,” Heinzen explained. “Through his job in the beverage industry, he helped every non-profit group who was running an event help them succeed, and run a better event because of his experience and knowledge.”
Roseff was also a coach and member of the board of directors for Manitowoc Chiefs Youth Football, was inducted into the Lakeshore All Sports Hall of Fame, and received the Harmony Award by the Clipper City Chordsmen.
Brennan Seehafer and Rob Roseff
He and Denise were named Manitowoc Volunteers of the Year and received the Key to the City from Mayor Nickels, they were parade marshalls for the Manitowoc Holiday Parade, and were recipients of the Joseph P. Schmitt ‘Speak Up’ Award from the Chamber of Commerce.
The Milwaukee Brewers also recognized him for their Community Achievers Award and he threw out the first pitch at the game that night.
Gumby also worked with Damon Ryan on WOMT broadcasting local high school games.
Heinzen recalled a story when Rob had some surgery at the Mayo Clinic and was hoping to be home by Christmas, but his hospital stay lingered on.
“He was struggling, and he wasn’t eating…but he had a craving for Bud Willman’s hamburgers,” Heinzen explained. “(Connie and I) drove 5 and a half hours smelling those Bud Willman’s hamburgers in our car. We got to Mayo and he immediately opened the bag and started eating. Denise said that was the first thing he had eaten in about a week.”
Funeral services will be held Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi on Grand Avenue.
A visitation for relatives and friends will be held at the church on Friday between the hours of 3:00 and 9:00 p.m. and again Saturday morning from 9 until 10:45 a.m.
