Robert Bjorkman

Robert Bjorkman passed away peacefully early in the morning on Nov. 8, 2016 at the age of 88. He was born Aug. 1, 1928 in Frederic, Wis. to Vivian (Vick) and Anna Bjorkman (Scheidecker) Robert graduated from Lohrville High School in Lohrville, Iowa before attending Trinidad State College, where he studied gunsmithing.

Robert enlisted in the US air Force in 1950, where he worked as an aerial photographer and was discharged with honors as a Sergeant in 1954. While stationed in Spokane, Wash., he met his first wife, Barbara Irene Pilant, and became her husband and father to her two children Gloria and Jeffrey.

His education in gunsmithing led to work in the tool and die trade, where he began his diverse career as a machinist, and design engineer. Too many jobs to mention here, his family sums up a few of the jobs he held as one of the men who truly helped build post war America by starting his career as a machinist at Oliver Tractor, gunsmithing, Minuteman missile facilities, supervising construction of a livestock feedlot and grain facility in the Republic of Georgia in the USSR, pipe support design for nuclear power plants, and over 20 years for Lockheed Martin designing production tooling for the F-16 fighter jet until his retirement at 80 years of age in 2008.

Robert’s biggest love was his Appaloosa Cutting horses. His breeding program started in the 1970’s with his foundation mare Klondike Sue. Robert bred many national and world champions over the years. He was always striving to breed the best horses he could, and bred the Appaloosa stallion Earthquake Ike, known around the world as one of the finest appaloosa cutting stallions.

He had many friends in the horse industry and was always eager to offer sound advice to help people get started in cutting.

Robert was inducted into the Appaloosa Hall of Fame in 2015 followed by his Stallion Earthquake Ike in 2016. Robert was known for his quick wit and boyish grin. His enthusiasm and happy whoops in the grandstands during cutting competitions will be missed by his friends and peers.

He was preceded in death by his father Vivian; his mother Anna; his brother Jim; and his second wife, Donna Bjorkman.

He is survived by his sister Judy Freeman and husband Norman of Berryville Va., sister Geri Lyons and husband Clayton of Annapolis, Maryland; son Jeffrey Bjorkman and his wife Virginia of Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, daughter Gloria Kisebach and husband Theodore of Spokane, Wash., daughter Cyndi Soliz and husband Paul Smith of Washougal, Wash., honorary daughter Amanda Bishop, and first wife Barbara Wacker; plus five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday Dec. 3, at the Trinity United Methodist church in Charles City.

Bjorkman