Robert J Hirsch

Robert Joseph Hirsch

March 21, 1933 – May 18, 2026

On the first day of spring in 1933, a baby boy was born to Leona, a secretary, and Thomas, a telephone lineman. In honor of the robins who usher in spring, his mother named him Robert.

Robert Joseph Hirsch was the youngest of three children. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. As a child, he taught himself magic and would put on shows to entertain family visitors. His parents sacrificed to send him to the prestigious St. Ignatius High School. Upon graduation in 1951, Robert joined the Congregation of the Holy Cross, also known as the Brothers of the Sacred Cross. Robert served with the brothers for one year before deciding he was not called to life in a religious order.

Robert joined the Air Force in 1952. Despite this being during the Korean War, he did not go to Korea. When recruited, he was promised a duty station in Germany. So naturally, he had a brief layover in a German airport on his way to Africa. He spent the bulk of his service in Libya and California. Robert served in the Air Force for 4 years and obtained the rank of Staff Sargent. He worked in intelligence. Due to his intelligence background, when Robert left the Air Force, the CIA twice attempted to recruit him. Robert declined the offers because he wanted to teach kids to read. Robert graduated from Santa Monica City College with a teaching degree in 1960. While attending college, Robert subscribed to a magazine for Catholic singles. He joined their pen pal club and was sent the information for a young woman who lived in Kansas. Robert and Colette Rickert exchanged letters for two years. He then went to Kansas to meet her. When he returned to California, he missed her so much that he mailed her a teddy bear holding an engagement ring and a note, “Will you marry me?” She wrote back, “Yes.” They were married on July 1, 1961, at Colette’s childhood church in Ellinwood, Kansas. Their first kiss was, “You may kiss the bride.”

Robert and Colette made their home in Los Angeles. Robert was an elementary school teacher and a reading specialist. Colette was a housewife. They had three children: Joseph Alan, Steven Patrick, and Sandra Leonora. They also served as foster parents to many children in need.

In 1976, Robert graduated from UCLA with a master’s degree in special education. In 1978, he was reading the L.A. Times and saw an ad for a movie theatre in a small Missouri town. He thought owning your own movie theatre sounded like fun, so the family moved to Mountain Grove, Missouri, and bought the local movie theatre. In addition to running the movie theatre, Robert was the sole special education teacher in the small town. The special needs school was in a house. All the special needs students aged 5-22 attended together. It was a true one-room schoolhouse situation. The living room was the classroom, the kitchen and dining room were the cafeteria, the bedroom was Robert’s office, a swing set in the back yard was the playground, and the family VW van (driven by Colette) was the school bus.

Robert always loved dogs. In Missouri, he had the land to have more dogs than he ever thought he could. The first dog he saved came with the land. The previous owner intended to shoot him because he had one dog too many for his new home. “Don’t shoot that dog! Leave him and I will take care of him,” Robert told him. This is how Terry joined the family and lived to old age. Robert saved many more dogs in the years to come. Blitz was going to be killed because his old family got another dog, and they didn’t get along. Peaches was going to be killed because her owner was tired of her having puppies. Nicky was abandoned in a trash dumpster. Chico was found sleeping on a discarded diaper in a ditch. He rescued Georgia from the pound because he found out it was her kill day. He saved so many dogs, people started dumping them in his front yard, and then quickly driving away. He kept them all. And when he got dressed in the morning, he always put dog biscuits in his pocket. “Because you never know when you will see a dog who needs a biscuit.”

In 1981, the family bought the Paradise Donut Shop. “For the best donuts on earth, go to Paradise.” Robert and Colette would make the donuts together at night. Then Robert would go teach school while Colette ran the donut shop. After buying the donut shop, they worked nearly every day. The only days off were holidays and snowstorms. In his 70’s, Robert worked in various group homes for children and disabled adults. He finally retired due to declining eyesight and mobility. In May 2018, Robert and Colette moved to Massachusetts to live with their daughter and her family. He attended the Active Life Adult Day Center in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, for four years. Going there every day got to be too much for him, and he began to stay home full-time.

Robert became blind in his final years. His Alexa was very important to him. It would tell him the time,

the news, play podcasts for him, lead him in meditation exercises, and facilitate his daily praying of the rosary. Robert’s world darkened even more when he lost his beloved Colette on March 1, 2025. Later that month, he found out that he had cancer. Despite missing Colette terribly, he did his best to reach his goal of living to 100. Unfortunately, he did not achieve his goal. He passed peacefully at home on May 18, 2026, with his daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. He was 93 years old.

Robert is survived by his children Joe, Steve, and Sandey; daughters-in-law Carol Hirsch and Serena Carniato; devoted son-in-law Paul Waweru; grandchildren Adam and Abbey Hirsch, Ronin and Nova Carniato-Hirsch, and Zola, Colton, and Amelia Waweru; as well as many nieces and nephews.

Robert is predeceased by his lovely wife of 63 years, Katherine Coletta (Rickert) Hirsch; his parents, Thomas and Leona (Richley) Hirsch; his brother Raymond Hirsch; and his sister Madeline (Hirsch) Sprenger.

A calling hour will be held on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, from 9:00 - 10:15 a.m. in the Brandon Funeral Home, 305 Wanoosnoc Road, Fitchburg, MA. His funeral will follow at 11:00 a.m. in St. Leo's Church, 128 Main Street, Leominster, MA. Followed by his burial with Military Honors at the Massachusetts Veteran Memorial Cemetery, 111 Glenallen Street, Winchendon, MA 01475