OAK CREEK, Wis. — A couple from Oak Creek who were killed in a car crash Friday night are being remembered for their decades of service to the community and their dedication to family.
Thomas and Sharon Robe died when another driver failed to stop at a stop sign and collided with their vehicle in Marinette County, according to authorities.
Watch: Oak Creek couple killed in crash remembered for community service, dedication to family:
The couple had just celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary last week and were heading to their family's vacation home up north, a Memorial Day weekend tradition for the family.
"It was probably 8:30 when I got off the phone with them. It was a great conversation about how excited we were, and it was going to be another Memorial Day for our family," said Steve Robe, the couple's oldest son.
That phone call was the last time Steve spoke with his parents.
Just before 9:30 p.m., the accident happened, according to authorities.
"We're a very tight-knit family, my parents instilled that in us. There was always plans and stuff like that," Steve said.
Sharon worked as a nurse for over four decades at Columbia Saint Mary's in Milwaukee, where she was known for saving lives.
"I was at my sister's high school graduation, and the principal stood up and he brought her up in the meeting," Steve said. "cause my mother had saved his mother's life."
Thomas, a Marine Corps veteran, served on the Oak Creek School Board for over a decade and was a former board president.
Frank Carini, the current Oak Creek Franklin School District board president, said Thomas was the one who encouraged him to run for office.
"My wife called me and I was working obviously at the restaurant here and I just went into the corner and was teary-eyed," Carini said about when he heard the news.
Carini described the Robes as parental figures to him, and said he wants to carry on their legacy.
"Making a stronger community, that's what Tom really cared about," Carini said.
For the Robe family, they plan to keep their parents' memory alive by staying together, just as Thomas and Sharon would have wanted.
"The little things that you take for granted that are the big things that you think about in the times like this," Steve said.
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