THALER
Robert James Thaler, 83, of Bay City, passed away peacefully on Sunday morning, July 27, 2025, with his family holding him close. The family is grateful that they were given the gift of time to be able to reminisce with him over the previous week. Surviving are his wife, Janet Patrick; son Brad (Melissa) Thaler and their daughters Annalise and Alana, of Springfield, VA; son Drew Thaler and his son Archer of Los Angeles; Janet’s daughters, Laurel Kreamelmeyer Muega of Arlington, TX, and her daughter Jordan, and Lindsay Kreamelmeyer (Kambiz Daneshvar) of Ann Arbor, and their children Jacob and Audrey; siblings, David (Karen) Thaler of Spokane Valley, WA, Suzanne Martens of Fruitport, Stephen (Linda) Thaler of Kent City, and Jerry (Janet) Thaler of Findlay, OH; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Also surviving is Diane Thaler of Saginaw, his former wife. A private memorial service will be held at a later date, with interment in the Leighton Township Cemetery, Allegan County. Robert was born on Dec. 24, 1941, in Kalamazoo, the first child of Orion and Lila Thaler. He enjoyed recalling many memories of his idyllic childhood, growing up with a loving family in the ‘40s and ‘50s in Gull Lake, Drayton Plains, Saline, and Lowell, where his parents were teachers. He was valedictorian of the Class of 1960 at Lowell High School and was on the 1959 LHS “Ironman” football team, co-champions of the Grand Valley League. He also ran track and wrote sports articles for The Lowell Ledger. He was first chair trombone in the high school band and was student council president his senior year.
He was a National Merit Semifinalist and won a four-year full ride Alumni Distinguished Scholarship to Michigan State University. He graduated from MSU summa cum laude, with a bachelor’s degree, and the University of Michigan, with a master’s degree. He received a Danforth Graduate Fellowship to Yale Divinity School, graduating with a master of divinity degree, and had additional doctoral coursework at Yale University. Robert was a professor of sociology at Saginaw Valley State University for 38 years. He was an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church and had been an associate pastor at Jefferson Avenue UMC in Saginaw, as well as pastor at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Saginaw. He had been very active in the Saginaw Historical Society and the Saginaw Voyageurs, a living history group that re-enacted the lives of the French voyageurs, paddling historic routes around the Great Lakes, and was a strong advocate for both the Castle Museum of Saginaw County History and the Saginaw Public Schools, having worked on many millages for both.
He was an avid fan of the Lowell Red Arrows, Saginaw Arthur Hill and U of M football, and the Detroit Tigers. He always put others before himself. His kindness, altruism and caring spirit were evident to all who interacted with him, and in the many examples of his care and concern for others, especially relating to human rights. He lived John Wesley’s philosophy: “Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can.” Memorial contributions may be made to First United Methodist Church of Lowell, Aldersgate Methodist Church in Saginaw, or charities of one’s choice that work to alleviate human suffering.
