Robert Switzer

Robert “Bob” Michael Switzer, 87, passed away on October 16, 2026, in Gladwin, Michigan, the same town where his story began, just a few weeks shy of his 88th birthday. 

Bob was born November 3, 1938, in Gladwin, the oldest of four children of Floyd “Pete” and Lois (Berry) Switzer. He grew up on the family farm on Bailey Lake Road, just south of Townline Lake Road and about halfway between Gladwin and Harrison. He went to school in Harrison through the fifth grade, then moved on to Gladwin School, where he played quarterback for the Flying G’s from 1953 to 1957. In those days hunting wasn’t a sport; it was meat for the table. At 13, Bob used the money he had saved from his own hay-baling business, run with his Uncle Noel’s Allis-Chalmers round baler, to buy his first rifle, a Savage 30-30 bolt action, from the Sears & Roebuck catalog. He grew into a solid outdoorsman and an excellent hunter, and deer, rabbit and woodcock were his specialties.

 His youth was also full of escapades, many of them with his good friend Harvey Zelt of Hoover Avenue. According to family legend, Bob jumped his father’s ’49 Dodge over M-61 at Hoover Avenue while Harvey watched for traffic. It took three tries. Only afterward did the two remember the case of longneck beer in the trunk. Another lifelong friend, John Greer, met Bob in ninth grade at Gladwin High, where John played center to Bob’s quarterback. There are many stories about Bob and John. Given how much the two of them got away with, those stories will stay secret. 

In the fall of 1957, Bob went on to Ferris State College, where he again played quarterback, this time for the Bulldogs. In the spring of 1958 he met Janice “Jan” K. Snyder there and took her to her first “grasser party.” They were married on June 25, 1960. Bob stayed at Ferris until Uncle Sam called in 1961, and he served in the U.S. Army from 1961 to 1964. After basic training, he was back under center, quarterbacking the post football team at Fort Knox and later at Fort Belvoir.

 After his service, Bob went to work at the Sears & Roebuck store at Frandor in Lansing. He got the job through his father-in-law, Tim Snyder, and stayed for 16 years. Bob and Jan made their home in Portland, Michigan, from 1964 to 1980, and raised three sons there: Scott, Jeff and Tim. Bob was a great dad who coached the boys’ Little League teams. He was also active in the community. He was president of the local Jaycees in 1968–69 and president of the Portland School Board, and he played for the B&W Auto softball team, a legendary wrecking crew that held its own on and off the field. From 1965 to 1980 he was also a member of one of the top high school officiating crews in the Lansing Capital Circuit, working football, basketball and baseball games. 

In 1980, during the real estate downturn, the family moved to Ahwatukee, Arizona, where Bob sold commercial furniture for Marston’s Inc. They returned to Michigan in 1983 and settled at the Snyder family cabin near Yuma. Later they moved to Traverse City, where Bob and Jan built a successful bed and breakfast, the Painted Pony. 

Those were far from their only moves. Bob married a born wanderer, and together he and Jan moved 24 times, including three round trips between Michigan and Arizona. The family’s favorite story is that Dad and the three boys would carry the suitcases into each new house, and Mom would walk in right behind them with a crowbar, ready to start “decorating.” 

Bob was preceded in death by his parents and by his son Jeff. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Jan; his sons Scott (Esther) and Tim (Julie); his grandchildren Alberto, Javier, Tim Jr. (Erin), Dustin (Ashley), Luke (Alex), Dorothy (Joshua), Bobby (Alicia) and Peter (time to marry her Pete); his great-grandchildren Weston and Tessa (Tim Jr. and Erin), Willow, Scotlyn and Axell (Dustin and Ashley), and Sophia (Dorothy and Joshua); his sisters Janet Kahl, Polly (George) Alward and Susan (Daniel) Pahl; and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. 

A Celebration of Life for Bob will be held on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at the Gladwin Eagles Aerie 3292, 101 N. State Street, Gladwin, Michigan 48624. Cocktails and appetizers begin at 1:00 p.m., followed by dinner from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Interment will take place at Portland Cemetery on Monday, October 26, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the First Congregational Church of Portland, 421 E. Bridge Street, Portland, Michigan 48875, or to the American Diabetes Association.

Arrangements are in the care of Hall-Kokotovich Funeral Home. www.hallkokotovichfuneralhome.com