Robert Bruce Burger

One of the most important parts of Bob’s life was his marriage to Anne. I remember the first time he came to me and told me he had found someone he was interested in. I gave him the same advice I’d give anyone. I told him to be careful who he chose to have a relationship with because a partner is either going to be a positive influence or a negative one. I told him that loyalty was the most important thing and that they should be friends first. You have to actually enjoy being around each other and share the same interests for it to work.Anne was so good for him. I had never seen him feel so good in his entire life. When they were together you could see the smile in his eyes and the love he had for her. He talked about her with me consistently and it was always about how much she meant to him. It is very rare in my life to see people that young find what you would define as true love but they really had it.Anne is one of the most responsible young ladies I have ever met and she was incredibly loyal to him. She truly stuck by his side exactly like the vows stated. As a father who was with Bob from the day he was born until the day he died, I can say that I never saw anyone bring as much joy to him as she did. They both helped each other grow in so many positive ways.I want to honor Anne here because she was such a major part of his journey. She was the positive influence I had hoped he would find. I pray that she finds inner peace and happiness because if anyone deserves that, she sure does. She will always have a very special place in my heart. Their marriage was a highlight of his life and these pictures show exactly the kind of bond they shared.

Bob had a deep love for golf that began when he was just a young boy. He didn't just play the game; he truly enjoyed the business side of the sport and the professional atmosphere that came with it.Always sharp and impeccably dressed for the course, Bob brought a sense of excellence to every round.When Bob was very young, he was the only child allowed on our company golf outing because my senior vice president saw how well he behaved in a business environment and he was not disappointed.Bob was so excited to go on that outing with me. I was proud of my son of course I'm always proud of my son, but that day he shined as a true professional, even at such a young age.

Bob didn’t do anything halfway. When he developed a passion for motorcycles, he wanted to go straight to the top. He always had that drive to push for the most powerful, most capable machine available.As a father, I admired that ambition, but I also knew the reality of the road. Before he could move up to the big bikes, I insisted on a foundation of safety. I bought him a Buell—a smaller, agile bike—and sent him to motorcycle safety school. At first, he wasn't thrilled about starting "small," but it was a strategic move. I wanted him to have the skills to handle distracted drivers and the unpredictability of traffic before he moved into higher horsepower.Later on, Bob told me he agreed it was the right move. He realized that the training gave him the "agency" to ride on his own terms. For Bob, motorcycling became a form of mindfulness. It was the one area where the noise of life fell away, and he could focus entirely on the present moment. Whether he was on that first Buell or the more powerful bikes that followed, the road was where he found his version of peace.

One of Bob’s other passions was self-defense with weapons. I was an expert in the US Army and a Range Safety Officer so I taught him how to shoot with a 9 mm Sig Sauer. After only a couple of lessons he was already showing incredible skill. The pictures of his targets really speak for themselves. I literally could not believe it when Bob put nine rounds right in the bullseye like that.I have a video of that day that is too big to upload but you can see the smirk on his face in the photos. You can tell how accomplished he felt and how happy he was to be that good at it.He enjoyed skeet shooting as well. Bob didn't live his life behind a screen. He tried many things and always enjoyed deep learning of whatever he was interested in.He had so many talents when he put his mind to something. He always did everything to the absolute best of his ability. I am very proud of Bob in so many ways and a simple web page could never truly convey how much.

Bob's passion for cars started the second he could talk. He had such a strong drive to get behind the wheel that he actually thought he could drive my black Volkswagen diesel bug when he was only three or four. He had been playing with his Xbox driving setup with the pedals and steering wheel so much that he was convinced he knew what he was doing. I put him in his child seat in the back and he got so angry when I told him he couldn't drive a real car yet. He spent the whole ride kicking the back of my seat. He never wanted to be a passenger. He always wanted to be the one in control.When Bob was 16 he had a job but he wasn't happy with the old Hyundai I got for him. He talked to me about taking out a car loan so he could get a brand new car and he promised he would reimburse me for the payments every single month. He was working hard and trying to do better in school so I agreed to do it. He paid me on time every time. He was very responsible and never took advantage of me. He kept his promise perfectly. After that he got a Ford sporty car under those same conditions. Finally he bought a Toyota Tacoma totally on his own. I could always trust Bob to keep his word with me.That interest eventually led to his favorite job. When he was still in grade school I took him to a Toyota dealership and he ended up standing on the showroom floor explaining every detail of a car to a lady who was looking to buy. The managers were so impressed that they let him look at all the cars because they knew he’d be careful with them. When he turned 18 they hired him and he loved that work family more than anything else.He did have challenges with dyslexia which made the paperwork and the licensing numbers difficult. He’d get a number wrong now and then and the managers would get upset because that business requires total accuracy. Bob gave it his all. He pushed through it because he loved the customers, the cars and the people he worked with so much.Some of our best times were just driving. Me, Bob, and Sarah would head out to places we had never seen before just to look at the scenery and talk. We’d leave the phones alone and just focus on each other. We did the same thing on many motorcycle rides too. Bob finally got his favorite car, a BMW, about a year or two before he passed away. Looking back at the dealership and those long drives, that was really where he was the most happy.

One thing I will always remember about Bob was his deep respect for machinery. I started him early. I taught him to drive a riding mower when he was just nine or ten years old. It reminds me of how a farmer named George Pomeranke trusted me to drive an entire tractor with a hay baler and a wagon behind it when I was just a kid. George would lift the bales onto the wagon while I drove. I still can't believe he trusted me that much, but it was a different time.I saw those same qualities in Bob. He took responsibility and he listened to me. He respected the machinery after I educated him on how it operates. Later on, I got a Toro zero-turn. It is funny that we both used to want to be the one to mow the grass with that. It is fun and I enjoy it too.Bob was not much into regular video games. He wanted facts and he wanted the real thing. He loved simulations, especially simulations of farming and mowing. On that zero-turn, he was in his element. We even talked about him starting his own lawn service. Whenever he was mowing the lawn, he was very focused and calm. He was a professional about it. Seeing him out there, focused and steady, is exactly how I want to remember him.It makes total sense that he gravitated toward those farming and mowing simulations. For a brain like Bob's, those weren't just games. They were systems to be mastered. They provided a predictable environment where he could be in total control.