Robert “Bob” Allyn Kierlin, age 85, died on February 10, 2025, after a brief illness but a full life.
Bob was born on June 1, 1939, in Winona, Minnesota, to Edmund J. and Dorothy C. (Dahm) Kierlin. His first memory was of a World War II victory parade being marched across the Winona Bridge when he was a child.
His family and friends will always remember Bob as a compass, with True North a belief in people, free minds, and free markets. Bob’s own compass always led him back to Winona, the city he loved and always returned to after worldwide travels or surprise visits to Fastenal stores across the United States.
He served in Venezuela in the Peace Corps, during which time he met his first wife, Stefannie Valencia Kierlin. A commitment to service would later extend to his role as Minnesota State Senator in the early 2000s. In his early life, a lengthy hospitalization for torticollis that was supported by Gillette Children’s Hospital informed his desire to give back when able.
Bob indiscriminately respected others, seeing the best in everyone without desiring reciprocation himself. This value extended to the culture of Fastenal Company, which he founded out of an idea to create vending machines that spat out fasteners and grew into a worldwide business with the core mission “Growth Through Customer Service.” While his dream as a child was to one day own a factory, his working life would be influenced by one of his favorite books, Henry Adams’ Mont Saint Michel and Chartres. He was motivated by the notion that great and wonderful things could be constructed by groups of people carrying the same mission.
Close friends will always remember Bob for his down to earth, frugal sensibility: always knowing the value of a dollar and always keenly aware that the more you saved, the more you had to give away. His belief that anyone should be able to attend a Catholic school, no matter their ability to pay, extended to his support of Winona Cotter and other programs. His generosity, in particular to local needs, knew no bounds and these projects numbered the stars in the sky. Bob never wanted to see a building with his name on it (just a road race), preferring to support most causes anonymously but generously.
Bob’s sense of humor was kindled from old MAD magazines, Bob and Ray comedy shows, Steve Martin, and Bob Newhart. Many say his performance in Fastenal promotional videos deserved an Oscar, or some significantly lesser prize. When, in the rare instance he lacked the answer to a question, he might suggest you ask Quasimodo, who would have a hunch.
He is survived by his daughters, Lara (Todd Allyn) Kierlin and Monique (Phillip Brent) Duncan, grandchildren Max Allyn Kierlin, Rio Everest Duncan, and Kierlin Orion Duncan, his wife and steady companion Mary Burrichter, his sister, Dottie Henneberry, as well as extended family. He was preceded in death by his parents and first wife, as well as by his sisters Colleen Quade, Clarice Henneberry, and Doris Sennes.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be 12 p.m. Saturday, February 15, 2025, at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Winona, where he was a parishioner. Interment will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Winona, MN.
Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the church.
In lieu of flowers, please direct any memorial to Minnesota Masterpiece Hall, P.O. Box 322, Winona, MN 55987. Services entrusted to Fawcett Junker Funeral Home & Crematory, Winona, MN. Online condolences can be left at www.fawcett-junkerfuneralhome.com.
FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!
