Robert “Bob” Solheim, 80

 Robert Allen “Bob” Solheim of Bemidji, Minn., died unexpectedly of natural causes on August 14, 2025, at Sanford Hospital in Bemidji. He was 80. 

Bob was born at Fort Logan in Denver on Sept. 28, 1944, while his father, Nordal Solheim, served as an Army medic in World War II. After Nordal was discharged from active service, he returned home to northern Minnesota and settled on a farm in Johnson Township, where Bob grew up.

Bob attended local schools in Oklee, Minn., graduating from Oklee High School in 1962. He enjoyed playing on the Oklee Bobcats’ varsity football and basketball teams. After graduation, Bob held several jobs, including working as a farmhand in Montana and Wyoming and building missile siloes in North Dakota.

On Dec. 27, 1964, he married his high school sweetheart, Dianne Tasa, at Nazareth Lutheran Church in Hickory Township. 

Bob attended Bemidji State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1971. After graduation, Bob took a position as an accountant with Touche Ross in Minneapolis. While working in Minneapolis, Bob was introduced to Ted Rowell Jr. of Rowell Laboratories in Baudette, Minn., who hired Bob as a comptroller for his growing pharmaceutical company. 

In 1985, the family moved to Roswell, Ga., after a merger with Reid Provident of Marietta, Ga. Bob continued to work for the company through an acquisition by Solvay, a large international industrial firm based in Brussels, Belgium. Throughout the 1990s, Bob served as Solvay Pharmaceutical’s chief financial officer before retiring in 2005 as its vice president of new business development. 

After retirement, Bob and Dianne moved to Bemidji to be closer to family and friends. Throughout his life, Bob’s pastimes included hunting, fishing, riding his motorcycle, and spending time with his many family and friends. Bob was a member of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Bemidji.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Nordal and Irene Solheim, brothers-in-law Gene Nelson, Gary Carlson, and Gerald Tasa. 

Survivors include his beloved wife of more than 60 years, Dianne; two siblings, brother Jerry (Beth) of Bemidji and sister Sharon (Bill) Krueger of Gonvick, Minn.; four sons, Jeffrey (Yvonne) Solheim of Bemidji, Michael Solheim of Bemidji, Nathan Solheim of Denver, and Brady (Geetha) Solheim of Oakland, Calif.; three grandchildren, Zach (Jessa) Solheim of Bemidji, Logan (Rachel) Solheim of Maple Grove, Minn., and Jyothi Solheim of Oakland, Calif.; and three great grandchildren, Jhett, Bowie and Boston Solheim of Bemidji.

Services will be held at 1 p.m., Thursday, August 28, at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Bemidji. A visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church.  Interment will be at 2 p.m., Friday, August 29, at Nazareth Lutheran Church Cemetery in Hickory Township. 

Flowers or memorials may be sent to Cease Funeral Home, 2807 Irvine Ave. NW, Bemidji, MN 56601.

 

Condolences may be left at ceasefuneralhome.com.