Robert E. Queen

Robert Elliot Queen November 11th, 1948 – September 15th, 2025

Robert “Bob” Elliot Queen, 76 of Madison, WI died on Monday, September 15th, 2025 at Select Specialty hospital in Madison, WI. Bob was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on 11/11/1948, Armistice Day, to parents Lewis Queen and Audrey Queen (Pelletz). He was raised in a loving home in Worcester, Massachusetts with his older Brother Jeffrey and his younger sister Jody. As a youth he enjoyed playing sports, going to summer camp and trying to stick out as a middle child.

Bob graduated from Worcester Academy in 1966. After graduation Bob bounced around a few universities as he increasingly became involved in the anti-Vietnam war movement. In 1968 he backpacked through Spain, Portugal, France, Switzerland and England. It was an epic trip, he was arrested in Pamplona the night before the running of the bulls, he slept on the beach in Ibiza, and he went to a party on a Brazilian Battleship in Lisbon. In 1969 Bob attended the Woodstock music festival. Woodstock planted a seed in Bob that would bloom in the second half of his life. In 1970, after hitchhiking around much of the United States, Bob settled in Wisconsin. He worked on a few dairy farms and then in the Spring of 1971 he traveled to Cuba on the fourth Venceremos Brigade, a good will mission to support the Cuban people by helping with the sugarcane harvest. There, as they cut sugarcane together Bob met his future wife, Nancy Kathman. After 8 weeks in Cuba, Bob returned to Wisconsin with Nancy and eventually purchased a farm near Clyde, Wisconsin. For many years Bob raised goats for milk which was processed into goat cheese at a cheese co-op they helped form. After the births of their two sons, Alex and Max, Bob and Nancy moved to Madison. Bob landed a photography job with the university and then a few years later a job as a photographer with the Department of Natural Resources. He worked for the DNR for almost 20 years. During his years with the DNR Bob had the task of photographing Governor Tommy Thompson, as well as Hank Aaron, and Bonnie Blair.

In 1989 Bob found his true calling as a neighborhood organizer and activist on the near East side of Madison. He helped save Marquette Elementary School from closure. He started the Marquette Waterfront Festival and took over as the event planner of the Orton Park Festival. He grew the free events into successful yearly non-profit festivals that put money back into the community. Although his festivals started with local artists like Chris Plata, Honor Among Thieves, Lou and Peter Berryman, and Clyde Stubblefield, Bob soon developed a passion for the world music genre and brought bands from all over the world to play in Madison. Ruben Blades, Buckwheat Zydeco, Angelique Kidjo, Bomba Estereo, Maraca, Carlos Varela, Los Martires del Compas, Lyrics Born, Trombone Shorty, Marcia Ball, Sonny Landreth, Sonah Jobarteh, Dakha Brahka, Mokoomba and many more all played at various concerts and festivals that Bob organized. Money raised from the festivals helped Bob create and direct a free drop-in summer camp called Eastside Express at the Marquette School field. Many neighborhood children attended the summer camp, and many went on to become counselors as well. In 2014 Bob started the Central Park Sessions at Madison’s new central park now called McPike park. The Sessions supported local non-profit organizations and Bob continued to bring world class music to Madison’s near Eastside.

Bob didn’t just stay on the Eastside of Madison. For many years he would attend the WOMEX world music festival held in various European cities and The Festival International De Louisiane in Lafayette, Louisiana. At those festivals Bob would network and scout musicians that would eventually play at his events. After retiring from the DNR Bob and Nancy would spend part of the winter in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Many of those years they would fly to Cuba from Mexico to visit the country where they first met.

Bob was a devoted Husband, Father, Brother and Grandfather. He was smart, funny, caring, loving, charismatic, somewhat stubborn, generous, passionate and creative. He found his “calling” later in life and he excelled at it. He brought people together with the hope of creating a more cohesive community, and for everyone to share in the beauty that he strived to create.

Thank you to the many family members, friends, neighbors, musicians, volunteers, businesses, city officials, talent agents who helped Bob pursue his happiness.

Bob is survived by his wife, Nancy Kathman; sons, Alexander (Jessica) Queen and Maxwell Queen; his siblings, Jeffrey (Miriam) Queen and Jody (James) Queen-Hubert; his grandchildren Owen Queen and Lucy Queen; Uncles, Melvin Pelletz and Leslie Pelletz; Nephews, Jonathon Hubert, Daniel (Erica) Queen, Jeff (Patty) Kathman; Nieces, Karen (Ben) Stern, Andrea (Arjun) Rao, Suzanne (Tom) Myers.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Lewis (Audrey) Queen; Stepmother Joyce Gewandter; Grandparents, Isaac (Ann) Queen, Albert (Rose) Pelletz; Uncles, Sumner (Sylvia) Queen, Stanley (Betty) Pelletz, and Aunt Doris (Irwin) Parness.

In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to the World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/  in his name. A celebration of life will be scheduled next summer to send Bob out in style. Contact Max Queen for more information.