Robert "Bob" F. Sprafka

 Robert (Bob) Francis Sprafka Jr. (1952-2025)
Our brother Bob died on October 13, 2025 in St. Paul, MN, where he 
lived his entire life within a ten mile radius, with the exception of a 
year spent working as a municipal bond broker in La Jolla, CA.
Predeceased by parents Robert Francis Sprafka Sr. and Jeanne 
O’Neill Sprafka. Survived by Philip Sprafka (Tammy) and their children 
Eli and Jake, Rochester, MN, Steven Sprafka, St. Paul, MN, and 
Cynthia Tanner (Stephen), Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Bob held both the world and his family at arms length, but kept his 
passions close. An avid outdoorsman and sports enthusiast, he 
loved duck hunting, basketball, hockey and golf. He was also 
passionate about rollerblading. He calculated the distance rolled after 
each outing and clocked over 3600 miles on his final pair of roller 
blades. 
In high school Bob was known for duck hunting at sunrise before 
hitchhiking to St. Thomas Academy. He attended St.Thomas College 
and Hamline University. In recent years, his mastery of trivia and vast 
general knowledge was the result of significant time spent 
voraciously reading in public libraries. This served him well as a 
taxicab driver where he was a lively conversationalist with a staccato 
laugh that was memorable to all who knew him.
Nothing engaged Bob’s competitive nature more than the game of 
Jeopardy. For the daily 4 pm show, he organized friends into robust 
competitions by telephone. He claimed—and we believe him—that no 
one ever beat him at Jeopardy.
Bob loved golf so much that he AstroTurfed more than one of his 
apartments, transforming each room into a putting green. 
He had a relaxed attitude however, about paying greens fees, 
typically beginning a round of golf midway through the course. 
Sprafka males have a pattern of departing earth during the month of 
October, which suspiciously coincides with the end of golf season.
Bob was diagnosed with leukemia in January and died nine months 
later at United Hospital. He requested that his ashes be spread near a 
golf course. 
Bob experienced significant periods of time being unhoused but 
eventually found a permanent residence. The family wishes to thank 
his close friends and health professionals whose many kindnesses 
helped him along his final path.
May his spirit fly free.
Visitation, Saturday, November 8th, 
11:00am-1:00pm, O’Halloran & Murphy 
575 Snelling Avenue S., St. Paul, Minnesota

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