Warren Robert Fasbender

Warren Robert (Bob) Fasbender was born on June 17, 1921, in Casselton, North Dakota. His father, Corvin Elmer Fasbender, born 28 Jan 1886 • Marathon County, Wisconsin, died, 16 Apr 1963 • Spokane, WA, was 35 and his mother, Katherine Coral Zieske, born 11 Mar 1895 • Hubbard, Minnesota died, 30 Nov 1986 • Spokane, WA was 26 when W. Robert Fasbender was born. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Elsie R.Tolbert Luedke, and his loving companion of his late years, Margaret (Maggie) Ivey. His 3 brothers all preceded him in death, Donald C., John Alfred, and Gerald Dean Fasbender, as well as nephew Steven R. Fasbender. Bob is survived by his son Larry Luedke, 3 step-grandchildren, 2 step-great grandchildren and several step-great great grandchildren. He is survived by daughter Valerie G. Pena, 4 grandchildren: Jamie A. Wilde of Lakeside,OR, Kelly D. Wilde of Merced CA, Scott T Wilde Lexington, TN and Danielle Wilde Cady of Mesa, AZ. and 8 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by 3 nieces and 2 nephews.

Warren Robert went by the name of Bob. His family lived in North Dakota where he and his older brother Donald were born. His brother John and Gerald (Gary) were born in Minnesota. His dad Corvin ran a secret side business of moon-shining in North Dakota. Bob remembers going with his dad Corvin, delivering bottles like a milkman setting bottles on the front steps of homes where he would retrieve the money or a note from the returned bottles. Bob's dad got caught by revenuers once and spent 6 months in the Fargo, ND jail. His family moved when he was 9 years old to the Powder River area near Sheridan, Wyoming, closer to where his father's brother Albert Alfred Fasbender owned a cattle ranch near Arvada, Wyoming. Bob's dad, Corvin worked at a dairy farm in Big Horn, Wyoming. Bob had memories of seeing buffalo hides and reptile heads; especially the 1000's of rattlers from rattlesnake tails, hanging from the ceiling of Uncle Alfred's back porch. He loved riding older brother Donald's horse, given to Don by Uncle Alfred. He remembered one time riding all the way from the ranch to home: a great distance. When Bob was about 16 years old, his parents sent him ahead to WA/ID to scout the area for their next move. Bob rode the train to Spokane, WA, where he got a job working the fields. When the family arrived, Bob's father Corvin found a job as a baker in Idaho. Bob apprenticed with his dad learning how to bake bread and desserts which he still enjoyed doing at 101 years old. He liked cooking his own breakfast, his specialty being corned beef hash.

Trucks held an allure for Dad at a young age. He really liked baking, but could make more money driving trucks, so he began working for Bert McKane at a Kellogg market when he was 18 years old, hauling produce. He then went to work for the Art brothers. His first trip was taking Washington Apples to California. He started buying another load in California to bring back, selling ½ to Pacific Fruits and Vegetables in Wallace and ½ to Perone Produce.

When he was young Bob joined with some buddies to play in a band. Having learned to play no instrument, he sat down at the drums, with a little help from the band members, he learned how to play drums and harmonica. He played at the Worley Club in Worley, Idaho. He also played at the Sunshine Inn in Kellogg with guitarist James Anthony and his brother. Later he would play at the Davenport Club in Spokane with his wife Jean who played the piano. Bob had joined the Navy in 1941 before World War II had begun. When he returned after WWII, he bought a home in 1950 on the GI bill, which he lived in

until his death. Bob and Jean had a piano and drums in the basement and played for their own parties. Bob and Jean were married December 21, 1949, after Bob divorced Loretta Geary, who he had met and married Jan 22, 1944 while doing Navy Training in Lake, Indiana. Bob was shipped out aboard the U.S.S. Eldorado at Balboa (Cologne) to the Panama Canal zone on the Atlantic side. During his time in Panama he flew as a crew member on a PBY-1 Catalina, which searched for submarines along the Panama coast to protect the canal from German destruction. At the end of his duty he traveled to Panama City to take an Air Force mechanics test and enlisted in the Air Force from which he was honorably discharged in 1947. While in the Navy he represented the Navy boxing team. That was where he picked up the nickname “Fastie”. When he returned from WWII, his then-wife Loretta refused to join him. They remained separated until his divorce in late 1949.

After his discharge from the Air Force, Bob returned to Spokane, WA in 1947 and was employed as a tank truck driver for Inland Refineries. He met Virginia L Taylor, also from Kellogg, and his daughter Valerie was born in March of 1949. Bob and Virginia (Jenny) were never married due to not being divorced from Loretta Geary. In 1949 he divorced from Loretta Geary and married Elsie R.Tolbert Luedke. He then helped to raise Elsie (Jean's) 10 year old son Larry Luedke. He became a very good father. They became best friends as well as father and son, enjoying hunting and the outdoors together. In 1950 he took a job at the Pend Oreille Mine and Metal Company, working with engineers building a new mill. While there he was a Surveyor/ Rody chain-man, later becoming a draftsman when another draftsman made a mistake on blueprints. When that job was completed he returned to Spokane and began driving truck again.

Bob and partner Don Buroughs bought a produce truck in 1957 and started a trucking company hauling apples to California and produce back to Spokane. By 1960's they had 3 trucks and were into distribution. They then sold the produce trucks and continued in hauling distribution. Bob met Larry French of Winchester in Canada just as Winchester was moving out of Canada. Bob, ever the entrepreneur picked up the Winchester Distributorship and clay pigeons. Bob was the first to haul unwrapped clay targets and proved they could haul without breakage, saving the company and the gun clubs time and money. They sold the clay targets to gun clubs all over the western states.

Bob shot in his first skeet tournament 1963. Bob learned to shoot skeet at the Spokane Rifle Club and at the Spokane Gun Club. He continued to shoot at tournaments for many years all over the Western states, winning many awards and traveling with his wife Jean in his motor home or flying to tournaments with his stepson Larry Luedke, a former U.S. Air Force pilot. The awards he was most proud of was the Western Zone Championship, the High 200 handicap in 1966, and the Singles Championships in 1978. He also won 2 Montana State Out-of-State Singles Championships in 1974 and 1991. He won the Alaska Out-of-State Handicap title in 1978, two Out-of-State High All Around titles in 1976 and 1977. He also won Out-of-State Singles in 1976 and the Inland Empire Shoot in 1982. In addition, he won several veteran and senior veteran titles. He has won well over 26 tournaments, meaning he surpassed the requirements needed to be inducted into the the Hall of Fame, which he was honored with in 2015. At the age of 91 he could still shoot 99 of 100 clay targets.

In 1965 Bob Fasbender and Don Buroughs opened a new business in Spokane called “The Trap House” where they carried clay pigeons, shooting and hunting equipment and other sporting goods. They expanded to warehousing and a second store near Tacoma, WA , which Don would run. Bob had a young man named Lonny Smith who worked for him 11 years learning the business. In 1980 Bob decided to sell his share to his partner Don and sent Lonny to Tacoma to manage the store there. Bob and Don had named their warehouse distribution Far West Sports Distribution, and the retail store Sports Co. Sports Co is today a popular supplier to sportsmen across the west and beyond. They recently became Sport Co. and Outdoor Emporium, with 2 stores in the Tacoma/Seattle region. Don has passed away and now Lonny is the owner of the extremely successful and well-known hunting, fishing and sports businesses, and honors Bob as their company founder.

Bob remained in business as a trap repair business until he sold it in 1985 and retired. Later, Bob began spending a few winter months in Arizona. While in Arizona he kept active playing golf weekly, dancing and walked 2 miles a day. He continued wintering in AZ several years after his wife Jean's death. After meeting his companion Margaret (Maggie) Ivey, she would join him on his adventures. When he sold his winter home in Yuma, AZ in 2005, he continued to walk daily, golf and shoot at the club. Over the years, he had remained active hunting elk and deer, packing into more primitive areas with a string of pack animals, which he and Don Buroughs owned. He has fished with Alaskan friends, and fished the ocean out of Long View, WA. His greatest love was Chukar hunting in Eastern Washington and Oregon, which he had done for many years. He loved to tell stories about his dogs and of his partner Don and stepson Larry's trips to Eastern WA and OR to hunt Chukar. Before and after he sold his AZ home, he and Maggie would fish with his daughter Valerie and son-in-law Armand Pena in their boat for salmon on the Coos and Umpqua Rivers in Oregon. In his 90's and when weather prevented his outdoor exercise, he continued to ride his stationary exercise bike 3 miles in 15 minutes, every day. Bob has always was physically active person, attributing that to his longevity. Throughout his life, he was a member of a many Spokane clubs, including the Moose Lodge, Elks Lodge, Eagles Lodge and the Shooting and Gun Clubs but was still active with the V.F.W. Since he began living year-round in Spokane, he has joined several buddies every Thursday (except during Covid) to play poker, which he was pretty good at up until the last year, as his memory began to fail. Mr. Fasbender looked forward to his last years in his home in Spokane. He passed on January 16, 2024 at 102 ½ yrs old. In years past they would tell you that the deceased was a man of great character. W. Robert Fasbender was indeed a man of great character. He was well loved and will be greatly missed by his family and many, many friends.