A respected Galesburg attorney whose tenure on the District 205 Board of Education spanned three decades died early on Christmas Day, leaving a legacy of dedication, integrity and commitment to community.
Douglas Robert “Bob” Lindstrom died Wednesday at his Galesburg home with his family by his side after a battle with heart issues. He was 76.
Obituary: Douglas Robert “Bob” Lindstrom: February 15, 1948 ~ December 25, 2024
A 1966 Galesburg High School graduate, Lindstrom practiced law for more than 40 years at several firms in the Galesburg area, most recently as an associate attorney of Barash & Everett, LLC, in the firm’s Galesburg office.
His contributions to the community are many. In addition to his 20 years on the school board, Lindstrom was a member of Galesburg Rotary Club for nearly 50 years, served as director for the Galesburg Regional Economic Development Association, and was a trustee for both the Cottage Health Care Systems and Cottage Health Care Foundation.
“Bob Lindstrom was a great man — one of a kind,” said Paul Mangieri, CEO and managing partner of Barash & Everett, LLC. “Beyond being a devoted husband and father, Bob was a tremendous lawyer, the likes of which we rarely see. Bob had the ability to quickly wade through a morass of facts and get to the heart of any legal problem presented.
“He was kind and considerate in dealing with people from all walks of life and he respected everyone he came into contact with. The thing about Bob is that he was honest and fair and those two virtues governed his practice of law.”
District 205’s fierce fiscal watchdog
Lindstrom served on the District 205 Board of Education from 1997-2017, the longest tenure for any board member in the district’s history.
Known as a fierce fiscal watchdog, Lindstrom was respected by fellow board members and district administrators.
“From the very onset, I could tell Bob was going to be the type of board member who was willing to do the best for the boys and girls in the Galesburg school system,” said Ron Cope, who worked as an administrator for District 205 from 1989-2001, most of those years as superintendent of schools. “He always did his homework and preparation ahead of board meetings, and contributed during discussions.
“I worked with many strong board members during my 20-plus years as a superintendent, and I would rank Bob right up there at the very top. I just can’t say enough good things about Bob, not only as a board member, but as a human being.”
Cope said he and Lindstrom were able to come to a mutual understanding on most issues — except one that was never resolved.
“The only negative about Bob was that he was a Cubs fan,” Cope said with a laugh. “He always asked me to take down my Cardinals paraphernalia that I had in my office.”
Lindstrom ‘was the glue that held us all together’
Dr. Carl Strauch, who served on the District 205 Board of Education from 1995-2011, remembers Lindstrom as “very devoted to the school board, and a meticulous board member.”
He noted Lindstrom was “a very strong advocate for administration stressing fiscal sanity in the district.”
“He was really everything you’d want in a school board member,” Strauch said. “We had a strong board back then, and Bob was sort of the glue that held us all together.”
A fellow Rotarian, Strauch said he was able to speak with Lindstrom days before his passing, and visited him at his home on Christmas Eve, hours before he died.
A proud Silver Streak
Lindstrom lettered in both basketball and baseball at Galesburg High School. According to his family, he was especially proud to be a member of the 1966 Silver Streaks team that finished second in the state and was eventually inducted into the Galesburg Athletic Hall of Fame.
In his obituary, the family shared, “Bob loved a good story and would often tell the tale of a specific game against Rock Island in 1966 where Dale Kelley scored over 48 points. As Bob was called in to replace Dale, Dale received a standing ovation, while Bob mistakenly thought the cheers were for him.”
Former Galesburg educator, administrator, coach and school board member Barry Swanson was a Class of 1966 classmate and teammate with Lindstrom on the state runner-up basketball team.
“Prior to the 1966 season, we — guys like Dale Kelley, Bob Jasperson, Roland McDougald, Steve Marshall and Terry Childers — spent about every summer night on the lit court at Bob’s house,” Swanson said. “That’s where we honed our half-court offense. We were a close team.
“It’s hard to watch some of these guys like Bob passing on. They were just very good people and, I feel fortunate been associated with people like him.”
‘A man of exceptional integrity’
A one-time fellow District 205 School Board colleague, Swanson maintained a lifelong friendship with Lindstrom.
“We ran around together and were great buddies in high school, and we maintained our friendship throughout our lives,” Swanson said.
“He was a man of exceptional integrity. He was always serviced oriented, and that goes back to when he was a teammate. He didn’t play as much as he probably wanted to, but he was always cheering on his teammates.”
Asked to describe Lindstrom, Swanson said, “He had an incredible, dry sense of humor and quick wit. You might think he was a little bit shy sometimes, but he wasn’t at all.
“He was very intelligent, and thought through things. And he had a great family — his mom and dad were wonderful people, and his brother Dick was a great guy, of course. It’s a huge loss.”
Lindstrom continued his education at Coe College, completing his Bachelor of Arts in 1971. He attended the University of Iowa Graduate Business School and earned his Juris Doctorate from Drake University in 1975.
He settled in Galesburg, marrying Priscilla Eichhorn on June 28, 1980, and began a family of his own. His wife, Priscilla, survives after 44 years of marriage. As do his children, Douglas R. (Ashley) Lindstrom Jr. of Bettendorf, Iowa, and Mary Ellen (Ryan) Rankin of Pensacola, Florida; his brother, Richard “Dick” (Carol) Lindstrom of Galesburg; three grandchildren, Drake Robert Lindstrom, Dean Axel Rankin and Noa Jules Rankin; his sister-in-law, Barbara (Mel) Eichhorn-Koffman of Colorado Springs, Colorado; brother-in-law, Tom (Sara) Eichhorn of California; four nieces, three nephews and several great nieces and nephews. Bob is preceded in death by his parents and his son Scott M. Lindstrom on May 16, 2010.
Visitation for Douglas Robert “Bob” Lindstrom is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon, Monday at the First Presbyterian Church in Galesburg. Services will follow at noon at the church.