Robert "Bob" R. Cliff

Robert Richard (boB) Cliff, age 71, of Hanover, Illinois passed away on November 14, 2011 at his home with family by his side after a courageous battle with cancer. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on November 18, 2011 at the United Presbyterian Church, Hanover, Illinois with Reverend Ron Sumption, officiating. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery, Hanover. A visitation will be held from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. on November 17, 2011 at the Law-Jones Funeral Home, Hanover. A memorial fund has been established in Robert’s memory.
boB was born on November 1, 1940 in Savanna, Illinois, the son of William Clyde and Ethelyn Marie (Pettengill) Cliff. He graduated from Hanover High School with the Class of 1958. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served on active duty from August 1958 to May 1961. He served at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, Third Army Headquarters in Korea, and Fort Hood, TX. On July 28, 1968, boB was united in marriage to Karen J. Eastman at the United Presbyterian Church in Hanover, Illinois. They were blessed with four daughters. He was a loving son, brother, husband, father and grandfather; the “glue” that held this family together!
His true love was his Lord and Savior and family. boB was a self-employed farmer; farming was not his job or hobby, it was what defined him. He truly enjoyed antique tractor shows and competing in tractor pulls. boB was a sawyer at the Hanover Saw Mill, worked for Herb Shelly Construction, as well as worked for the State of Illinois building the four-lane between Galena and East Dubuque. boB also sold seed corn for many years for Jacques Seed Company, now known as Mycogen Plant Sciences, where he gained many life-long friends. For 25 years, he worked at Chestnut Mountain Resort during ski season as a lift operator and later as a lift supervisor. He considered his "crew” his second family.
boB will be dearly missed by his wife of 43 years, Karen, and four daughters, Dr. Roxanne (Richard) Rygiewicz of Montello, WI; Dianne (Andrew) Stanton of Darlington, WI; Leanne (Jason) Stortz of Erie, Illinois, and Suzanne (Darren Brening) Cliff of Gunnison, Colorado; Five grandchildren, Samantha and Jamie Stanton, Jaylee Stortz, and Robert and James Rygiewicz. He is also survived by two sisters, Jennie Kaye Cliff of Hanover, Illinois and Ruth Ann Pettengill of Colorado Springs, Colorado and one sister-in-law, Nancy (LeRoy) Wernet of Winslow, Illinois, and several nieces and nephews.
boB was preceded in death by his parents, his father-in-law and mother-in law (Charles and Gayle Eastman), and one granddaughter, Ethlyn Rose Rygiewicz.