Valmeyer lost a familiar face and a prime example of passion for one’s community with the recent passing of Bob Mohr, a lifelong supporter of local athletics who was involved in countless other organizations and activities.

Mohr was known by many in Valmeyer as the scorekeeper for games in the Valmeyer School District – namely at volleyball and basketball events – and particularly for baseball games in the community.

His many years of service to community athletics earned him a place in the Valmeyer Sports Hall of Fame, though he himself wasn’t one to spend time on the field.

Mohr also showed a strong passion for the local arts, with a longtime support of the school district’s music program similarly earning him a place in the Valmeyer Music Hall of Fame, not to mention his contributions to the Monroe Actors Stage Company over the years.

He was also known for his dedication to St. John UCC in Valmeyer. Other accolades and involvements of Mohr include time spent in the Valmeyer Lion’s Club, Maeystown Sportsmans Club and service on the Valmeyer Village Board, among many other groups.

Also worthy of mention are Mohr’s contributions to Salt Lick Point Land & Water Reserve.

Mohr’s sister Sandy Steinman and niece, longtime Valmeyer volleyball coach Karla Bivins, offered information on his life and the staggering amount of time and dedication he showed his family and community.

Born in St. Louis in 1937, Mohr and his family moved to Valmeyer when he was nine years old, returning to where his mother was from.

Steinman recalled their youth quite fondly, Mohr and his sisters always spending time outside whether it was winter or summer, enjoying playing on the hills around their home.

She further spoke about how close they were from childhood. Mohr having joined Steinman at Cedarhurst Senior Living just a few weeks before his passing, Steinman recalled a remark made by one of the staff who offered her some comfort soon after he died.

“One of the workers said, ‘Well, now you have a guardian angel watching over you,’ and I said, ‘Nope. From back when I was five years old and walking to kindergarten in St. Louis, my brother was always with me,’” Steinman said.

Growing up in “Original Valmeyer,” as Mohr would call it, he and his sisters attended school in the village.

Steinman spoke about him as something of a bookworm who did quite well in school.

She and Bivins recalled how he earned himself a scholarship to Washington University, though after only a brief time there – a semester according to his sister and two weeks according to his niece – he decided that college simply wasn’t for him.

Mohr instead joined his father working for Johns Manville in St. Louis, serving as an accountant for many years. It was there that he accrued the bookkeeping experience that would serve him well during his time on the Valmeyer board as well as in various local organizations.

He also, of course, spent a great deal of time with Valmeyer athletics, working the score board or keeping the score book.

“When he was in school, he loved stats and information pertaining to sports, so he always helped out in that aspect and just continued doing so,” Bivins said.

Mohr even spent a fair amount of time coaching or at least offering his best advice, earning himself a reputation with his encyclopedic knowledge of baseball.

Bivins and Steinman particularly recalled his time managing the Zips team, with Steinman playing on the team herself when she was 30 and Bivins getting roped into it thanks to her uncle.

“Uncle Bob was helping to coach the Zips, and they needed a player, and he says, ‘Well my niece Karla’s pretty good at softball,’” Bivins said. “So I went and played a tournament with women that were twice my age and then some. That’s how my relationship with my Uncle Bob started, through sports.”

Bivins spoke about how his contributions to Valmeyer sports took a bit of a hiatus for roughly a decade as he found his work moving to Texas, demanding that he move – and learn how to drive so he could actually travel, as Steinman noted.

His work toward helping local athletics flourish were hardly put on hold, however, as he made great strides during his time in the Dallas suburb known as The Colony. Bivins spoke about how he helped establish a sporting complex in this area.

Also during his time in Texas, Steinman recalled that Mohr honed his skills as a cook and baker, also meeting, as she said, a “horrible, mangy dog” at his back door that he cleaned up, brought to a vet and wound up taking in as a family pet.

When he returned to Valmeyer, he found work with Ed Roehr Safety Products in St. Louis. Steinman recalled the impact he had at his work as an accountant, taking his phone on vacation only to have the business call him to help things stay smooth.

Of course, Mohr also jumped right back into his role in Valmeyer sports. Bivins mentioned how she began as a coach in 1988 and invited him to run the score board for her.

As she said, he planned to stay in this role until the end, a feat he ultimately managed.

“People would always ask him, ‘Bob, how long are you gonna keep keeping all these score books and score boards,’ and he would say, ‘Until I…’ and he would put his head forward,” Bivins said. “It was just something he enjoyed, and he was good at it. I would say maybe the finger on the buzzer was a little slower in the last year or two.”

Bivins spoke further about Mohr’s involvement in the community, from his years on the village board to his activity with the church and Helping Strays.

She particularly remarked how he was in the Valmeyer Music Hall of Fame even as he “couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.”

Steinman likewise fondly joked about her older brother, recalling how his constant need for a haircut and indifference about his appearance earned him the nickname “Bob the Slob,” which he responded to with plenty of laughs.

She also discussed his sense of humor that seems to have rubbed off on her. As she said, Mohr took things quite literally. If someone was going to run to the store, he would advise that driving would be much faster.

Steinman also commented on his place as bachelor until the end.

“He always said he never got married because he was always with women and he was henpecked,” Steinman said. “He didn’t have to get married to be henpecked.”

Bivins stressed the passion and energy he brought to everything he was involved with.

“If he’s in something, he’s in it all the way,” Bivins said.

Steinman spoke highly of him for his dedication to his family, dedication he showed even as he balanced his many other responsibilities.

“There’s three things about Bob you have to know, his family was very important to him, sports, and then dogs,” Steinman said. “That’s where his life centered around when he wasn’t on the town board, when he wasn’t with the Jaycees, when he wasn’t in the Lion’s.”

Steinman spoke about his memory of birthdays and his generosity, having frequently taken his sisters and their spouses on cruises, though he said he did so because he didn’t want any money left over for them to fight about.

“We couldn’t have a better brother, that’s all I can say about Bob,” Steinman said. “He was just an all around good guy, and I don’t think he ever met a stranger.”

In the wake of Mohr’s passing, plenty of folks in the community have looked back on him fondly as they consider the legacy he has left behind.

Mike McCarthy, current manager of the Valmeyer Lakers who long worked with Mohr, described him as a “walking encyclopedia” when it came to baseball, with McCarthy bringing him along to every game during his time as junior high coach.

“We all loved Bobby,” McCarthy said. “He was like a grandpa figure to all the kids in the dugout. It didn’t matter if he was keeping score in volleyball games or basketball, baseball, he was like a grandpa figure. Everybody loved him.”

Longtime Valmeyer baseball coach Brad Juelfs, who also worked alongside Mohr for many years, spoke similarly of him, having known about Mohr well before he started working with him.

Juelfs described his dedication to all of the sports teams in the community, also describing him as a “mathematical genius” with his clean score books.

He recalled how Mohr only ever requested payment for his services in the form of a burger and ice cream, further saying that games won’t be the same without him.

“He probably would do anything for any of our sports teams,” Juelfs said. “He kept score the Friday night before he passed away… He was always a staple. He would always be there. The kids just loved him.”

Valmeyer Village President Howard Heavner also spoke fondly of Mohr, whom he recalled as being part of the board back when he first joined.

Heavner described him as a great example of a community servant given all his work for the school and town. He further remarked that he was a fixture for Valmeyer, and folks who have described him as a pillar of the community aren’t wrong given how many people depended on him through the years.

“He was somebody you just kinda expected to be there when you turned and looked in the dugout or at the score table at the ballgame, you just took it for granted that he’d be there,” Heavner said. “There’ll be a void. He really set an example for others, too. He set an example for others in the community that they need to get involved.”

Marcia Braswell, longtime Valmeyer High School music director who is also involved in local art groups such as MASC, similarly described Mohr fondly.

She recalled knowing him for many years and noted her appreciation for his support of the arts, from his constant presence at Valmeyer Community Chorus concerts to his work on the MASC board for a number of years.

Braswell voiced her thanks for not only his financial support of the arts through the years but also his work in simply being a vocal, visible supporter.

“He showed by example how important the music program was to the community,” Braswell said. “It was the presence, being there for the kids and letting them know it was important.”

With decades of service and support in Valmeyer and beyond, Mohr is sure to be missed by many in the community.

Bivins spoke to the place he had in the hearts of those around him.

“He was just a man who was respected by everyone,” Bivins said. “It didn’t matter if you were a junior high kid or a 90-year-old. People just loved Bob and respected him and were appreciative of all the things he did for the community, for the church and for his family. He never missed a game, but he also never missed a family birthday. He was just a very kind, good-hearted man.”