Bob Merkt lived the kind of life people make movies about, always unconventional, and definitely by his own rules! He grew up in Milwaukee, WI. His Father was Francis Merkt and his Mom was Anne, he had a pretty typical upbringing with his dad working at Allis Charmers and his mom at home.

Some of his early memories, included a trip to California in Fran’s 1949 Mercury, where he and his older brother Miles spent a good portion of the trip riding in the trunk! Fran propped the trunk open with a stick and the boys would ride back there for hours! He also has countless stories involving his go cart and the fort he built in the backyard. He basically was a real life “Little Rascal”.

They say life is made up of a few key moments, and for Bob the first one came in 1957. That is when he got his first real guitar, a brand new Fender Stratocaster, possibly the first one in Milwaukee! He became obsessed with Rock’n’Roll and by the age of 15 he was playing out in his band, "The Rock’a’fellers", with older brother Miles on sax. They even made a record! That spawned a life long career as a professional musician, playing clubs around the midwest.

The next key moment was in the early 1960’s when he bought older brother Miles’s unfinished Hot Rod. He was already obsessed with cars, but when he had the opportunity to buy that roadster everything changed. He got it completed for a local show and won countless trophy’s wherever he took it. When he wasn’t playing music, his day job became working on peoples cars doing Auto Body and Customizing. He ran his own shop for around 60 years.

There are many key moments in one's life, but the biggest in Bob’s life was his family. He got married to Mary Ann (Sue) in 1967 and had two kids, Bobby (1972) and Gina (1976). He juggled playing music and working on cars, but needed a house, so he bought an abandoned house and fixed it up (Who does that?). After several years, he turned his abandoned house into an amazing home, raising the family there and being a really great dad. They didn’t have much, but they were happy and had a lot of fun. Bob had a way of making just about everything fun!

Bob and Sue got divorced and Sue died a couple years later. He never stopped loving her though, he really didn’t. He spent the rest of his years taking care of his many customers, going to car shows, playing music, and just being that guy. You know, that guy who everybody knows and has a crazy story about. Bob had a rare charm of being able to make friends with just about anybody and everybody he met.

Bob is survived by his children, Gina (Matt) Kangas and Robert (Bob) Merkt II (Laura); grandkids: Link, Lucy, and Robert Merkt III (Bobby Joe); brother, Tom Merkt and family; and sister, Joan Merkt.

He was one of a kind and he will be deeply missed.