Moved to Idaho via Montana back in the mid 70's and have been here ever since. Married to my best friend Anita and we have two girls. Retired in May of 2014 after 20+ years in government and about 25 years in various forms of retail.

OBITUARY...
Bob left us way too soon after a short and courageous battle with ALS on July 30, 2020. He was loved by all he met and his family wants to thank all the medical team that helped Bob in his last few years fighting the disease.

Robert John Kobza was born on May 3, 1950 in Rapid City, South Dakota to Mae Beth (Maxiner) Kobza and Dr. Valerian Vincent Kobza. Bob was just 5 years old when his Father passed away; leaving behind Mae Beth to raise their young family. Bob learned compassion and resilience at a young age and would continue to bless those around him with his quick wit and easy conversation.

He attended Catholic schools and graduated from Rapid City High School in 1968. He continued his education at Black Hills State College in Spearfish, South Dakota; graduating with a degree in Business along with a minor in Political Science and an emphasis in Psychology.

After college Bob worked for SS Kreske (parent company to K-Mart) in Billings, MT and was later transferred to Nampa, Idaho. He found a home in the Treasure Valley and permanently settled in Idaho, eventually working 20 years in purchasing for Ada County.

Bob began his life-long love of guitar as a teen-ager in South Dakota. He was a talented guitar player and was able to create his own chord fingerings to accommodate the life-long challenges of his Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Bob loved the singer-songwriters of the era, Neil Diamond, Neil Young, and Gordon Lightfoot being some of his favorites.

Bob combined his strong Catholic faith with his musical talents and was a singer/ guitar player for many Folk Masses. After moving to Idaho, he joined St. Mark’s Parish and remained active in their music ministry until moving to Holy Spirit and Holy Apostles in Meridian. It was there at a St. Marks Catholic Adult Singles Mixer in 1982 that he met his best friend and love of his life, Anita Nourse. They were married within 9 months of meeting and were blessed with 38 years of joy and companionship. Although their marriage may have been made in heaven, Bob was pretty sure it was successful here on earth because of two simple words, “YES, DEAR!”

In 1984, Bob and Anita welcomed their oldest daughter into the world, Bethany Sarah. She went on to become an EMT and Respiratory Therapist and is currently doing her ER Residency in Tuscon, Arizona after graduating from Western University of Health Sciences. He was very proud to call his oldest daughter Doctor Kobza, and was so proud to have a doctor in the family again, since his father was a doctor. Bob and Bethany shared a love of photography and at a young age he would take her with him on photo shoots to be his assistant, where Beth would steal the show. In 1986, their youngest daughter, Teresa Bernadette was born. Bob and Teresa shared a love of music and both cherished the many memories of singing together at Mass. Bob and Anita attended all of Teresa’s many choir concerts in elementary, middle, high school and college. Teresa graduated from Idaho State University with a degree in Dietetics and was her Dad’s personal Dietitian.

Bob was an active and involved dad, who put his family first. When Teresa was just a toddler she saw Bob’s truck parked at One Hour Photo Lab, where he was working, and she said, “Look, Daddy’s home!” Bob took that message to heart and told his boss that family comes first, and if they wanted to keep him they would need to make some changes. Bob put all the members of his family and friends first and showed his love and support by attending as many nieces and nephews, and friends kids’ weddings and other family members funerals as he could. Right up to the end, when the disease was making it hard for him to breath and walk, he still went to a nieces wedding in Wyoming. Bob also helped organize and took his family to see out of town relatives as time would allow. He stressed the importance of family to his kids and wanted them know their Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and friends and to keep the relationships alive after his passing.

Not one to sit around, Bob coached Little League, soccer and basketball. When Anita signed the girls up for soccer, she volunteered Bob as a coach (after all, he had coached Little League), without realizing he had NO idea how the game was played. Bob quickly adapted to continue coaching the girls’ soccer for many years. He also coached Middle School and High School level basketball with his brother-in-law Mark Sullivan, where his daughters, nieces, and family friends begged the duo to coach. They took the Holy Spirit and / or Holy Apostles church teams to both the Hallissey and Moller tournaments. Throug