Robert E. Cullen

Robert Emmett Cullen was
born to eternal life on July 2, 2019 after a long life filled with passions for
healing, music, and travel. He was 92.

Bob was born in Belleville,
Wisconsin on August 13, 1926 and raised in Madison. He attended the University
of Wisconsin in 1944 but left after one year to serve the Army as a medic in
Okinawa and Korea during World War II. Upon returning from service he
re-entered the university and graduated with a Doctor of Medicine in 1952.

He married Verna Ilene
Watson of Benton, Wisconsin on April 30, 1955. They remained married until her
death in 1994.

Bob interned in Galveston,
Texas, then did residencies at both the V.A. and University Hospital in Madison.
He spent two years in the renal division of the University of Nebraska Medical
School in Omaha before he returned to Fond du Lac in 1962 to open his solo
practice. Bob and Verna welcomed their only child, Robert Sean Cullen, that
same year.

He served as Chief of
Medicine at St. Agnes Hospital for many years and Chief of Staff from 1976-78.
He spearheaded the development of the Intensive Care Unit and was its first
medical director. He also served as medical director of the Grandcare Nursing
Facility and St. Francis Home.

He was a member of Phi Beta
Kappa, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Allergy, the
American Society of Internal Medicine, and both the state and county medical societies.
He was treasurer of the medical review organization WISPRO.

Upon retirement in 1991, Bob
re-ignited his passion for music by obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in piano performance
from Marian College in 1996.

He was preceded in death by his
parents, Florence and Emmett Cullen, his half-brothers Phillip and John Kernan,
his half-sister Kathryn Beryl Sutton, and his beloved wife, Verna.

He will be deeply missed by
his son Sean and his wife Lyn of Waukesha, Wisconsin, their daughter Rachel
Cullen of Bozeman, Montana, many former colleagues, and many friends.

Visitation will be from 5:00
to 7:00 pm on Tuesday, July 9 at Zacherl Funeral Home, 875 E. Division Street
in Fond du Lac. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, July 10 at
St Francis Chapel, 33 Everett Street in Fond du Lac. Bob will be entombed
immediately following at Calvary Cemetery Mausoleum.

Online
condolences can be shared at www.zacherlfuneralhome.com.