The town’s mayor, Bob Zieg, died last week and many of us learned a great deal more about him from his older brother, Roger, who spoke long and lovingly at his funeral.

Bob was born in 1944 during the World War II. His father was in the Navy, but his ship had been torpedoed and was docked for repairs so he was able to be home in Nebraska for the birth. When he returned to sea, his ship was struck by a kamikaze pilot and he was killed.

A grandfather served as a surrogate father in many ways and tried to pass on some life lessons that the brothers came to appreciate in later life.

Roger said that if he wrote a book about his brother, one of the chapters would be titled “The House that Built a Man.”

It was an old house in need of much repair, but it had indoor plumbing. The bathroom floor was warped and the paint was peeled and one day Bob said to his brother, “Let’s remodel the bathroom.”

“Remodel the bathroom? We don’t know how to remodel a bathroom!” Roger replied.

“We don’t know how because we’ve never done it,” came Bob’s reply as he began collecting a crowbar and hammer and went to work.

For an example of Bob’s compassion for others, he related a story about the not uncommon car accidents near the home. It was just over the rise of a hill with a curve and some trees and the route had its share of wrecks. Roger said that while most might call the police or an ambulance, Bob would be on the scene with his first-aid kit trying to comfort the victims.

“I always thought I would go first,” his brother said.

He didn’t miss it by much. Roger Zieg died Monday morning, just a week after his brother, after returning home to California.

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