Robert Konen

Robert “Bob” Vincent Konen, age 72, passed away Monday, March 16, 2026, at his home in Tammany, south of Lewiston.

Bob was born April 19, 1953, in Lewiston, to Orvelle Vincent Konen and Gelene M. Wing Konen. He graduated from Lewiston High School in 1971. He attended community colleges in Spokane, studying agri-business. After college, he worked on the family farm located in Tammany and on Cedar Ridge near Kendrick.

In Bob’s younger years, his favorite winter pastime was riding snowmobiles and he ran the groomer in Waha. In the late 1970s and 1980s, he was co-owner of B and J Suppliers, which sold CB (citizen band) radio equipment.

On Dec. 31, 1984, he married Molly Ann Bateman. They raised two children, Kate and Scott, in the home they built close to his parents’ place. They often traveled with their fifth-wheel camper between farming seasons. Later on, he rode ATVs and went on riding adventures with his family and friends. He enjoyed visiting on the phone about all things agriculture, firearms and Caterpillar tractors – also known as “yellow paint.”

Bob was on the Nez Perce County Soil Conservation Board in the early 1990s and was involved with Nez Perce County Farm Bureau for several years.

In May 2006, Bob was diagnosed with a rare, slow-growing cancer, neuroendocrine carcinoma. It didn’t slow him down for long. Over the years, with medical care from Dr. Pommier, nurse Pam and the staff at Oregon Health and Science University Hospital, in Portland, Ore., and Dr. Buckley at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, in Lewiston, Bob led a productive life until this winter, when the spreading cancer could no longer be treated. For the past few months, Bob spent most of his time sitting in his recliner with his two Pomeranians, Bandit and Smokey, on his lap. His last few days were spent in hospice care. Bob’s family is forever grateful to all who helped him fight cancer for almost 20 years.

Surviving Bob are his wife Molly, daughter Kate and her husband Alan Fye and their children Clare and Colton of Albion, Wash., son Scott of Lewiston, brothers John and Bruce, sister Carol, plus several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents and sister Sharon Konen.

Cremation has taken place. A get-together will be held at the Ketch Pen at the Lewiston Roundup Grounds from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, April 19. Friends and family are invited to stop by to share stories and reminisce about Bob. Appetizers will be served.

Memorial donations may be made to the Gina Quesenberry Foundation or Jackson’s Pay It Forward Foundation.

As Bob often used to say when he finished a phone call, “We’ll catch you later.”