Robert Bye

Robert R. “Bob” Bye of Custer, S.D., boarded the last leg of Life’s Railway to Heaven  Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. He was welcomed at the station by countless friends and family who arrived before him, none of whom he had ever forgotten. He was 78, but he had lived and loved enough for at least two lifetimes, and those who remain will never forget his remarkable presence in their lives.
Robert Roche Bye was born Feb. 25, 1948 in Grand Forks, N.D., to Stanley Orin and Grace Maxine (Roche) Bye. He spent much of his young life with his parents and grandparents in Inkster, N.D.
After his mother’s death, he and his father moved to Omaha, Neb. He graduated from Burke High School and went on to Hastings College, where he received a BA in history. He earned a Master of Divinity from Dubuque Theological Seminary and served as pastor for Presbyterian churches in Minnesota and Nebraska.
In 1994 he fulfilled a lifelong dream and went to work for the railroad, his first love. He retired in 2013 as a locomotive engineer for BNSF Railway. He was a long-time volunteer for the 1880 Train and the South Dakota State Railroad Museum in Hill City.
Bob will be remembered by son, Paul Bye (Erin McIntosh) of Rochester, Minn.; daughter, Erin (Bye) Olson (Christopher) of Isanti, Minn.; son, Benjamin Bye (Amaya Tyne) of Iowa City, Iowa; three grandchildren (Finn, Laynie and Mackenna Olson); and many more. 
Bob traveled extensively and befriended people wherever he went, and he also had many wonderful friends—his extended family—in the Black Hills area he called home. 
A celebration of life for Bob will happen in Rochester, Minn., at a later date. If you want to honor Bob’s memory, ride a train, make a friend, learn something about history, take the scenic route or lighten the load for someone who needs a lift.
Arrangements have been placed in the care of Chamberlain McColley’s Funeral Home in Custer.