Robert W. Stroetz, age 90, died Saturday, Mar. 1 at Saint Marys Hospital.

Robert William Stroetz was born in Neenah, Wis. Aug. 7, 1917 to William and Clara Stroetz. He spent his early years in Neenah, Weyauwega and Appleton, Wis. As a child, he assisted his father by delivering groceries and working in the family’s grocery store.

Music was his life-long passion. After graduation from high school in 1934, he traveled throughout the midwest with several big bands including the Tom Temple Society Band and the Freddy Slack Band. He studied trombone with the masters, Jerry Chimera in Chicago, Robert Marstellar in Los Angeles, and studied jazz with Bobby Byrne.

He graduated from Lawrence University Conservatory of Music and received his Bachelor of Music degree in 1942. Immediately after graduation, he enlisted and became a pilot in the Army Air Corps and played lead trombone in the Air Force jazz band.

After the war, he moved to Los Angeles, Calif., and toured with Les Brown and his Band of Renown. He also played with Skinny Ennis, was a member of the NBC Orchestra in Hollywood, and played for Columbia Motion Picture Studios. He then moved to New York, taught music and played with Ray Noble on the Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show.

On Nov. 29, 1946, he married Nina Hancock in Neenah, Wis. She died on December 25, 2002.

In 1946, he also began a lifelong career in music education. He received the Master of Music degree from the University of Southern California and, in later years, the Education Specialist degree from the University of Minnesota. He began teaching at the University of New York- Freedonia in 1946, followed by the University of Montana-Missoula, high schools in Galesville, Wis. and Caledonia, Minn. He moved to Rochester, Minn. in 1965, when he was hired as the first band teacher for Mayo High School and taught for the Rochester School District until he retired in 1985. He was principal trombone with the Rochester Symphony from 1956 until 1998 and never missed a concert or a rehearsal. During his career, he played with Victor Borge, Jack Benny, Doc Severinson and The Moody Blues. He continued to give private lessons until December 2007.

He was a charter member of  The Turkey River All-Stars, a local Dixieland jazz band, and played a multitude of venues, both locally and nationally. He has performed with them on the Delta Queen paddleboat in Branson, Mo., and at jazz festivals in New Orleans, as well as for four U.S. presidents.

He is survived by his sons: Philip (Vicky), Stacy, Minn.; and Randy (Lucinda) of Rochester; a stepson, C. Vincent (Kay) Baker, Tucson, Ariz.; two granddaughters; a sister, Caroline Giglia, Fort Thomas, Ky. He was preceded in death by his wife, one brother, and four sisters.

The funeral was at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Mar. 4 at Calvary Evangelical Free Church in Rochester. Interment was at Grandview Memorial Cemetery mausoleum. A visitation was held Monday, Mar. 3, from 6 - 8 p.m. at Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Homes and one hour prior to the service on Tuesday at the church.