Robert Carraher

It is with deep sadness that we announce on November 6, 2024, our precious Robert Charles Carraher was called back to God. He died peacefully in his new home in Apple Valley, Minnesota, with loved ones by his side, including his adoring wife JoAnn, whose devotion and loving care in Bob's final months was an inspiration to any who witnessed it.

Bob was born on December 13, 1952 and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. His father William (1924-1992) was a proud veteran and union man. His mother Mary (1928-1996) was a celebrated miniature artist and community theater performer. Bob, while obviously saddened to leave his earthly friends and family, was looking forward to rejoining his parents in Heaven, along with his older brother Bill who passed earlier this year, and other loved ones who preceded him: Robert, Mary Seraphina, and Frederick Albert.

Bob was renowned for his passions. He loved travel and throughout his life managed to visit and explore dozens of countries and nearly every state in the Union. Spiritual to his core, he and JoAnn particularly enjoyed experiencing Catholic mass in different places and languages. And every day at 4:30, like clockwork, you could expect to find Bob tuned into Jeopardy! and engaging in some light competitive fun.

But his biggest passion was people: no matter where he was, he maintained an uncanny ability to forge connections in the unlikeliest of situations. Give him five minutes or a long ticket line, and it was guaranteed he'd find some other proud Fenwick High School alum, or former 3M employee—Bob was a 3M lifer, having started right after college—or someone who used to play college basketball with some friend’s second cousin. Or better still, someone connected to the Oak Park Windmills softball team, which he coached for many years! He relished being the most fun accountant you'd meet, "an admittedly low bar," he'd add.

Typically, conversations would quickly turn to his favorite subjects: his children and grandchildren. He was immensely proud of his daughter Samantha ("She teaches at Fenwick!") and fellow trivia-loving son Timothy. And at the drop of a hat, he'd gladly drive hundreds of miles to spend time with his grandchildren Addison and Brady (of Sam and Chris Jasculca); or Agnes, Genevieve, Josef, Walter, and Magnificat (of Mitchell and Danielle Rose Hesley); or Hazel (of Brett and Lindsey Hesley).

In the end, it's all about the people you love, Bob would say, and he would like all his surviving loved ones to know that he cherished his time with them and that his memories of them were a blessing in his final days: sister-in-law Donna and her children Katie and Brian; sister Maryelizabeth Kula, brother-in-law Jim, and their children Taylor and McKenzie; brother John and his children Colleen, Danny, and Kevin, and their mother Sheila, and John's life partner Shari and her children Taylor and Hunter; best friend and little brother Tom, and his children Alison and Megan, and their mother Eileen; brother Jim and sister-in-law Susan, and her children Chris, Lindsey, and Mandy; brother-in-law Jerome Kahnke, sister-in-law Jan, and their children Taylor and MacKenzie; sister-in-law Donna Egan, brother-in-law Tom, and their children, Ashley, Leah, and Bridget; sister-in-law Peggy Elsasser, brother-in-law Bill, and their children Nicole, Natalie, and Jacob; brother-in-law Randy Kahnke, sister-in-law Lizz, and their children Joe, Ben, and Pete; stepson Shawn; son-in-law Patryk; mother of his children Carol; life-long friend Jimmy Torney; and his extensive group of fellow golf enthusiasts, travel companions, and other dear friends.

A Catholic Funeral Mass will be held on Friday November 15, 2024 at 10am at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 4030 Pilot Knob Rd, Eagan, MN 55122, with visitation an hour prior. Interment at Resurrection Cemetery. There will also be a Chicago-based celebration of life on Saturday November 23, 2024, with details to follow. In lieu of flowers in Bob's honor, if you wish, please donate instead to Fenwick High School or St. Giles School in Oak Park, IL; St. Rose Academy in Birmingham, AL; or St. John Neumann Catholic Church.

Livestream of the Mass will be streamed on https://www.youtube.com/@sjnChannel/streams