Robert Zignego

Robert “Bob” Joseph Zignego, 87, of Red Wing, died Thursday, June 19, 2025, at his home, surrounded by his loving family. Bob was born on July 8, 1937, in Red Wing to Joseph and Helen (Schafer) Zignego. He graduated from Red Wing Central High School in 1955, and then served six years in the National Guard receiving an honorable discharge in 1961. He met the love of his life, Rita Stoffel and they were married on May 2, 1959, at St. John’s the Baptist Church in Vermillion. They were blessed with six wonderful children. For many years Bob farmed the family farm on the southeast side of Red Wing, raising crops, livestock and selling Pioneer Seed Corn. In 1994, he retired from farming and went to work for the USDA as a crop surveyor and continued to sell seed corn for a number of years. He then began overseeing Calvary Cemetery, which in turn became his passion. He took great pride in making sure the cemetery grounds were well kept not only with the many hours of mowing and trimming, but making sure that the all the plots were in line. His donation of time and hard work has made Calvary a very sacred place. For the past 25 years, he and Rita have enjoyed wintering in Arizona. Most of all, Bob enjoyed being surrounded by his family and friends. His generosity, kindness and thoughtfulness will always be remembered.

Bob was a member of the Church of St. Joseph, he served on the board of the Goodhue County Soil and Water Conservation and was active in local snowmobile and saddle clubs.

Bob is survived by his loving wife, Rita of 66 years; five children, Kimberly (Bart) Samuelson of Hastings, Tamra Caneff of Red Wing, Jane (Jim) Roper of Red Wing, Joseph (Sally Losbanos) Zignego of Goodhue and Molly (Dave) St. Denis of Hastings; son-in-law, Steve Olson of Red Wing; 12 grandchildren, Zachary (Carlene) Samuelson, Paige (Drew) Nelson, Tyler (Marley) Samuelson, Liz (Jason) Kindseth, Oliver (Destinee) Olson, Chet (Katie) Caneff, Rebecca (Josh) Lexvold, Megan (Dave) Beer, Louise (Ryan) Espere and Owen, Calvin and Emelia St. Denis; 15 great grandchildren; two sisters, Betty (Clair) Anderson of Red Wing and Carol (Leonard) Miller of Red Wing along with many nieces and nephews. Bob was preceded in death by his parents; one daughter, Mary Olson; son-in-law, Patrick Caneff; two sisters, Helen Margaret Zignego and Rosemary Diercks and niece, Heidi Krause.

Mass of Resurrection will be 11 a.m. Thursday, June 26, 2025, at the Church of St. Joseph in Red Wing. The service will be livestreamed and can be viewed below. Burial will be at the Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, 2025, at the Mahn Family Funeral Home, Bodelson-Mahn Chapel and at the church one hour prior to the Mass. In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred to the Red Wing Environmental Learning Center or Calvary Cemetery.

The family would like to extend a gratitude of thanks to St. Croix Hospice and to Danielle, a personal caregiver to Bob, for their exceptional love and care provided to Bob.