Bob Fletcher Sr. won a Purple Heart in Korea, took pride in his sheriff son and adored his wife of 55 years. His crowning moment, though, might have been helping build the ice palace for the 1986 St. Paul Winter Carnival.
Fletcher, 76, died Saturday at his Maplewood home. He had lung disease related to emphysema, said Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher Jr.
For 33 years, Fletcher worked for the Army Corps of Engineers and designed dams, bridges and flood control projects, said his son. But as project manager for the 1986 ice palace, it “was the first time he got to build something that was beautiful and magical,” said Bob Fletcher Jr.
There were five people with crucial roles in building the Lake Phalen ice palace, said Charlie Hall, who was the general chairman of the ice palace in 1986.
“If Bob Fletcher wouldn’t have been in the group, the ice palace wouldn’t have been built,” Hall said. “He was that important.”
Having a son who was sheriff made Fletcher “very proud,” said his wife, Delores Fletcher, adding that her husband had “put up many, many lawn signs for him.” He also was proud of his daughter, Jane Kolias, whom he always called “his little pumpkin,” said Bob Fletcher Jr.
Born June 18, 1930, Fletcher grew up in St. Paul’s West Seventh Street and Highland Park neighborhoods. As a student at Randolph Heights Elementary School, he met Delores, whom he went on to date and marry.
Fletcher received undergraduate and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota.
A reservist with the Marines, Fletcher was called up in 1950 and went to Korea to serve in the war, as did his twin brother, Richard. While en route to the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, Fletcher was shot in the leg and chest, and a bullet missed his heart by a quarter of an inch, his son said.
After he was patched up, Fletcher returned to the front and finished his tour of duty, said Bob Fletcher Jr.
Fletcher retired in 1989 from the Corps of Engineers and worked part time at Short Elliot Hendrickson Inc., a Vadnais Heights engineering firm, until last fall.
He was active in the 1st Marine Division Association and the Chosin Few Association. Fletcher was a Sunday school teacher at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in St. Paul and had been a Boy Scout master.
He enjoyed working on his house, where he had lived since 1956, and he designed and built an expansion that doubled its size.
Fletcher is survived by his wife, his son, his daughter, his brother and six grandchildren.
Visitation is from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Holcomb-Henry-Boom Funeral Home in Shoreview. On Thursday, visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. at Eagle Brook Church in White Bear Lake and the funeral will follow at 11 a.m. Fletcher will be buried at Roselawn Cemetery.
Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at 651-228-5262 or mgottfried@pioneerpress.com.
Copyright 2007 Pioneer Press.
