Robert "Bob" Leland Goby

Robert “Bob” Leland Goby, 93 of Rochester, caring father, brother, grandfather and great-grandfather passed away on 11 September 2019 in Springfield IL.   

Bob was born in Ashtabulla, Ohio, on November 28, 1925, and was the second child of Lee W. and Helen (Chittick) Goby.  He married Patricia Anne McLeod on Nov 28, 1947, they divorced in 1968.  He married Kathryn Jaseko Henley on July 5, 1969.

Bob graduated in 1943 from Lanphier High School in Springfield, then attended Ohio State University’s Veterinarian Science Program until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944 where he served as a sergeant in the Military Police in North Africa and Italy.  He returned in Springfield in 1949 where he engaged in farming while working as a full-time probation officer for Sangamon County.  He was a Sangamon County Deputy Sheriff from 1951 until 1961 when he became Chief Investigator for the Sangamon County States Attorney’s office.  He retired from the County after 40 years, having worked in all three county buildings.  He was a member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and a lifelong supporter of the NRA.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Kathryn Goby in May 2011, his son Richard Leland Goby in July 2012, stepson, Gerald S. Daly in 1994 and brother Jack W. Goby in 1996. 

He is survived by his sister, Linda (Goby) Heisinger, son Robert Lee Goby (Deborah Ghrist), of Springfield, son Rhett L. Goby (Sue Ann) of Houston, TX, daughter Judy Goby-Oxtoby (Tom Oxtoby) of Naples, FL, stepchildren, Christine Zelle (Lee) of Springfield, Jerry Henley of Houston, TX, eight grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and eight nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be from 12:00 noon until the time of the memorial service at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, September 20, 2019 at Wilson Park Funeral Home in Rochester.  Burial will follow at Rochester Cemetery where the Inter-Veterans Burial Detail will conduct honors.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Rochester VFW or The Big Cypress Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution in Naples, FL.

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