Obituary for Robert G. Machotka

“Professor of Poetry and Trout”

Robert Glenn Machotka, 95, of West Salem, WI, died peacefully on Monday, September 22, 2025, with his loving wife, Jo Ann, by his side. A man of wisdom, wit, deep passions, and boundless curiosity, Robert lived a life rich in purpose, community, and creativity. He saw the world through the lens of science, drawn to its pursuit of clarity, its questions, and its beauty. His sense of wonder never dimmed.

He was the son of Delia May Longmier and Alfred Machotka, who raised seven children in Iowa and Dane Counties, Wisconsin. They weathered the storms of the Great Depression, frequent moves due to seeking work, and the challenges of rural life with unwavering dedication. Though their homes often lacked electricity or plumbing, Delia created a warm, nurturing environment using skills she honed in her childhood: cooking, sewing, gardening, and making everything from scratch, including soap and clothing. “My mother had a box of string labeled ‘pieces of string too small to save,’” Bob shared as he followed in her footsteps, never wasting anything.

Robert and Jo Ann met and fell in love in 1962 in Madison, Wisconsin, and soon started their own family. His deepest purpose was to provide a better life for his family— to ensure that his family had more opportunities than he had. By that measure, he lived a life of extraordinary success, far beyond anything he might have imagined.

Bob loved spending time at the family boat house on the Mississippi River, canoeing the Wolf River, trout fishing the Coon Creek watershed, and crossing the countryside looking at raptors and trees. He knew the difference between an American Kestrel and a Red-tailed Hawk at first sight and taught his children which birds and raptors are ubiquitous, as well as how to appropriately use the term “ubiquitous.” He had a deep reverence for the natural world, which came through in his love for animals, water, and the land.

He literally and symbolically wore many hats. He made hundreds of gallons of wine from a wide variety of fruit and plants and never hesitated to share a glass or a bottle of it. He studied mycology, foraged mushrooms, made beautiful gold and silver rings for people he loved, built and repaired canoes, and became an ordained minister from the Church of Spiritual Humanism so that he could officiate weddings, including both of his daughters’ ceremonies. He hosted legendary parties at the house and at the boat house. Whether out hunting for big trees, tending his garden, or repairing fishing poles and canoes in the garage, he led by example—teaching those around him how to live with intention, respect, resourcefulness, and humor. If you ever worked on a project with him, you likely heard “Give me a lever and a fulcrum to place it on, and I will move the world” (Archimedes).

Bob was a voracious reader of history and biographies and recited poetry with clarity and soul. His favorite poets include Edwin Arlington Robinson, EE Cummings, T.S. Elliot, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, and Adelaide Crapsey. In his later years, books were his primary source of entertainment and comfort and he cherished his bookshelf full of first editions.

Robert’s intellectual and creative pursuits were as wide-ranging as his travels and his wanderlust chronicles are epic. In the summer of 1947, fresh out of high school, Bob and a friend embarked on an adventurous hitchhiking journey to Washington, D.C. after working and making a profit at the local fair. They stayed briefly in Ohio and West Virginia before reaching the capital, where Bob stayed with his brother Bill. During his extended stay in D.C., he worked first as a copy boy for political cartoonist Herb Block at The Washington Post and later at a luxury leather goods store doing engraving and gold-stamping. He joined the Potomac Boat Club and rowed competitively and listened to high society riverside concerts from his rowboat. Later in life, he traveled across western Europe to the Czech Republic, his father’s home country, across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway, and to summer festivals in Japan. A bit of a Francophile, he also visited his daughter, Amy, in France several times, always returning home with big stories and new ideas.

Bob was a proud alumnus of the University of Wisconsin—Madison (BS ‘54) and the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee (MSSW ‘68). A gifted psychiatric social worker and later the longtime administrator of Lakeview Health Center, his professional life was rooted in compassion, service, and patient advocacy. His leadership extended into civic life as well, serving as West Salem Village President and on the La Crosse County Board, and even running for U.S. Senate in 1986. His ran “to give the people a greater choice of scoundrels.” He was a proud Rotarian and spent many winter nights ringing the bell for the Salvation Army.

Robert is survived by his devoted wife, Jo Ann (Galbraith) Machotka; his children, Amy (Pascal) Moreau, Robert Machotka Jr., and Marianne (Aaron) Bird Bear; and his beloved grandchildren, Ceera, Mason, Antoine, Thomas, and Jonathan. He is also survived by his siblings, Therese Hess and Joe Machotka, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents; siblings Bill, Ruth (Bob) Mitchell, Don, and Mike; and his dearest grandchild, Callan Machotka Bird Bear.

Our family would like to thank everyone at Lakeview Health Center, where Bob spent the last 18 months of his life. They provided expert care with dignity, compassion and kindness and we are eternally grateful.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m., October 17, 2025, at St. Teresa of Kolkata Parish, 210 W. Hamlin St., in West Salem. Msgr. Jeffrey Burrill will celebrate the Mass. Family and friends are invited to a visitation from 9:30 a.m., until the time of Mass at the church.

Online condolences may be offered at this site.