Orvil Wobig, 89, of Bella Vista, Arkansas, died peacefully at his home on April 27, 2022.  Orv was born in Olmsted County, Minnesota, on November 2, 1932, to Edward and Agnes (Zimmerman) Wobig.

The fourth of six children, Orv grew up and attended school in the Pine Island, Minnesota, area.  He worked for area farmers until joining the United States Army.  After serving in the army, where he earned his GED, Orv returned to Minnesota where he began work at the newly opened IBM plant in Rochester, Minnesota.  With an uncanny ability to see new, more efficient ways to do the work around him while saving the company money, Orv worked his way up the ranks until he was a Senior Engineer and the processes he helped develop had saved IBM billions across the corporation.  After 33 years of traveling to warm, sunny states and returning to the cold and snow of Minnesota, he retired to Bella Vista bringing with him a reluctant wife who preferred her days to be crisp and cool rather than hot and humid.

In his retirement, Orv took enormous pleasure in helping others.  He could fix almost anything, and he was kept busy helping his neighbors, family and church with anything that needed his skilled attention. The serious stroke he suffered in 2009 was especially difficult for him because he wasn't able to do all the helpful things that had given him so much pleasure.  Not one to give up, he continued to travel to visit family and friends to whom he gave great advice about how to fix things for themselves.

Orv was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Susan, his parents, his mother and father-in-law, John and Marie Buhler, all his siblings; Marlin (Joan) Wobig, Vern (Hazel/ Marcy Franz) Wobig, Adeline (Evan) Quall, Verona (Dan Lindquist and Rex Young) and Caryl (Shirley and Glenna) Wobig, and his brothers and sister-in-law Neil Blohm, Charlie Gritzner, Al and Will Buhler and Grace Buhler.

Orv is survived by his wife of 61 years, Louise (Buhler) Wobig, his daughter Katy Sojka and granddaughter Kelsey Sojka of Bella Vista, Arkansas, his son, Greg (Joan) Wobig, of Rochester, Minnesota, his grandson, Ben (Katie) and great-grandson, Max, of Washington DC.  He is also survived by in-laws who loved him like a brother; Ernie and Nancy Buhler of Woodbury, Minnesota, Irene Blohm of Rochester, Minnesota, Evie and Dick Berge of Iron River, Wisconsin, Floyd Buhler of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Dar Buhler of Janesville, Minnesota, Jean Buhler of Manhattan, Kansas, Helen Gritzner of Elkader, Iowa , Barbara Jennings of La Porte, Texas, and Eula Wobig, of Lakeland, Tennessee.

In addition, there are many, many nieces and nephews and their mates who loved their Uncle Orv and who appreciated all the things he did for them. Family and friends alike loved this quiet, hardworking man who listened far more than he talked, who always had a smile for people who opened a door or held a chair for him, and who was a wonderful example of courage and perseverance.

Memorial services will be held on Friday, May 20, at 2:00 p.m. at United Lutheran Church in Bella Vista. A celebration of life will be held in Rochester, Minnesota, on Saturday, July 23.

Memorials may be directed to United Lutheran Church, Circle of Life Hospice Center – 1201 NE Legacy Parkway, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712, or a charity of your choice.

Arrangements are under the direction of Bella Vista Funeral Home & Crematory (funeralmation.com).