Robert “Bob” Folsom taught music at Chadron High School from 1956 through 1958.Born in Minnesota, his family moved to Chadron, and he was a 1943 graduate of Chadron High School. During World War II, he served in the Army, but we know nothing about his tour of duty. He returned to Chadron and earned a degree from Chadron State in 1949 – later picking up a Master’s in Music Education from the University of Nebraska.
Besides Chadron, he taught in Ravenna, Nebraska; Trinidad and Brighton, Colorado; and Lewellen, Nebraska. His longest tenure was in Benkelman, Nebraska, where he headed the music program for many years. Folsom married “Modie” (Pack) Wood in 1965 and they happily shared a home until 1999, when health required that he be moved to a nursing home in North Platte.
An avid model railroad enthusiast and amateur radio control pilot, Folsom was also a member of the Benkelman Methodist Church, the Lions Club and American Legion.
According to the Benkelman Post, Bob Folsom died in July of 2000 and was survived by his wife, four daughters and a son, as well as two brothers, a sister, and 15 grandchildren.
