Robert Roy Ehlers

Robert R. Ehlers, known to his family and friends as “Bob” of Joshua, Texas, 85, passed away July 22, 2023, at home.

Bob was born on July 3, 1938, in Riesel, Texas.  He was the only son of six children born to Floie (Ehlers) Cox and Robert Ehlers.

After graduating from Axtell High School in 1956, Bob joined the U.S. Air Force in 1957.  He was an Air Policeman and served until 1963, when he was honorably discharged.  While in the Air Force, he was stationed in Italy and often talked about his experiences there. Bob was proud to have served his country and loved to tell stories about guarding the airplanes.

Bob married Anita Bowers on February 4, 1972, in Waco, Texas.  Anita had three girls at the time of their marriage (Kim Chenault, Lori Brown and Teri Bowers).  They moved around with a pipeline company and eventually settled in Burleson, Texas.  Later, they had a daughter together, Sunny (Ehlers) Starrett.

Bob and Anita loved to dance and won dance contests.  The waltz was their favorite dance, and they were smooth as glass gliding across the dance floor.  Bob was very proud to tell you that he danced with Loretta Lynn and her secretary at the “Red Barn” in North Dakota before she made it big.  As you can imagine, he was a huge Loretta Lynn fan.

During much of Bob’s life he was an entrepreneur.  In the late 1970s, Bob and his wife owned “Embers Restaurant” in Burleson next to the old bowling alley. In the 1980s, he worked at Fincher’s Western Store and later had a flea-market on IH-35 near FM 1187. Through the 1990s and later, he enjoyed flipping real estate and any kind of trailer he thought he could buy for a good deal.

Bob was a member of the Joshua Saddle Club, District One, and the National Association of Riding Clubs and Sheriff’s Posses. Bob enjoyed riding horses in parades and on trail rides, but he more enjoyed socializing with his horse family, working in the concession stand, and driving the tractor at the Joshua Saddle Club Arena. You could also find Bob hauling Anita and Sunny around wherever they wanted to ride horses.  Bob was Anita and Sunny’s “barn boy” as they so affectionately called him.

In the years after Bob’s wife passed, Bob spent much of his time helping his daughter, Sunny, with his three grandsons (Crawford Starrett, Garrison Starrett and Jenson Starrett). He loved to visit their place just to sit and watch all the animals graze.  You could often find him on the barn’s porch or sitting in his truck in the pasture.  He stayed very active up into his early 80s supervising his son-in-law, Patrick Starrett, with anything that needed fixing or building. Bob was a great supervisor!

Bob was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Anita Ehlers; his parents, Floie (Ehlers) Cox and Robert Ehlers, and four of his sisters Ruby Hayman Bluhm, Velma Loften, Opal “Cindy” Curtis, and Darlene Curry.

He leaves behind a host of family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Bob’s name to the Joshua Saddle Club, P.O. Box 1844, Joshua, Texas 76058.