Robert Carl Neumann

Robert Carl Neumann, 73, of Chatham, passed on to his eternal heavenly home Saturday, July 29, 2023.  

He was born June 29, 1950 in Springfield, the son of Herman & Wilhelmina (Fannie) Neumann. 

He married Rowena (Workman) Neumann in 1975.

Survivors include his wife Rowena Neumann of Chatham; children, Briana (Derek) Campbell of Montgomery, Texas; Dana Neumann of Chatham, and Tobias Neumann of Chatham; seven grandchildren; siblings, Norma Sabine of Lisle, Il, Lois Belveal of Knoxville, TN,  Ernie (Rachel) Neumann of Auburn, James (Sharon) Neumann of Springfield,  twin sister, Barb (John) Wilson of Chadwicks, NY, Jean Wheeler Trigg, of Auburn, Frankie (George) Maley of Auburn.

Bob was a 1968 graduate of Auburn High School and graduated from SIU Carbondale.  He was employed by Squires Art Studio & Ad Agency in Springfield, Bethlehem Steel Mill in Chesterton, Indiana, Illinois Terminal Railroad in Springfield, Norfolk Southern Railroad in Decatur, and sales in Auburn and Springfield.

Bob was an exquisite artist.  Any art medium he touched he could turn into a masterpiece.  He enjoyed: woodworking, painting, drawing, sculpting, knot tying, and jewelry making. He was great at making things by hand: furniture, hand carved canes, carved ax handles, bows, wooden canoes, cigar box guitars, willow furniture, etc. He forged knives & swords, and assembled muzzleloaders & cast bullets.  

He was a history buff. He spent countless hours stretched out on his camping pad in the living room consuming any book he could get his hands on that dealt with the Civil War and American History. He is one of the few people that own an entire library of the official Civil War Records. He enjoyed Civil War reenactments and American Frontiersman activities.  One of his hobbies was hand painting & displaying Civil War dioramas. He also spent many days playing war games on his computer.  Bob greatly appreciated Western and American Indian culture and artwork.

Bob was an avid outdoorsman and immensely enjoyed being in the great outdoors. He loved fishing and modern and primitive camping. He had a  love of wearing camouflage and daily wore a belt filled with his beloved Leatherman, multiple knives, and survival tools. He had a profound talent for unconventional problem solving and survival life skills. He was the "man with the plan". He was the man you would want with you when "everything starts heading south" or you found yourself stranded on a remote island. An enjoyable day for him was spending time at Karl Curby's farm in Glenarm, visiting with friends at "Fort Dickey" (Tom Dickey) in Auburn, or visiting  Bill Parish at his log cabin in Strafford, Missouri. 

Bob was an audiophile and loved music. The place that filled him with the most joy was Luckenbach, Texas. When he was there, he would smile from ear to ear as he visited "Rusty the Rooster" and listened to various artists on the stage. When there, we called him the "Mayor of Luckenbach" as he loved mingling with everyone in the crowd getting their names and numbers so he could make a playlist to send to them. He loved his Klipsch speakers and they were present in every room that Bob spent time in. Music always made him happy and he spent a lot of his time compiling his massive playlists. He said the best gift he ever received was a collection of music from his life-long friend David Decatoire.  He enjoyed touring music studios and attending concerts. 

Bob was also the "ice cream and slushy man".  He always had multiple gallons of ice cream on hand to serve when his grandchildren came to visit and could always be convinced to drive to the gas station to get his grandkids a slushy.

Bob always said when he died, we were to put him in his canoe, light it on fire with his bow & arrows and send him down the Mississippi;  however, a private funeral will be held by family at a later date.

Memorial can be made to Gilcrease Museum, 1400 N Gilcrease Museum Rd., Tulsa, OK 74127, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 Northeast 63rd St., Oklahoma City, OK 73111, Cahokia Mounds Museum Society 30 Ramey St., Collinsville, Il. 62234, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, 3614 North Jackson Highway, Sheffield, Al 35660 or Fame Music Studios, 603 Avalon Ave., Muscle Shoals, Al 35661.

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