Robert Dale Niedringhaus

Robert "Bob" Niedringhaus, MD, died July 3, 2026, at the age of 83 in St. Paul.

Bob was born and raised in Mobridge, South Dakota. After graduating from Mobridge High School, he earned his bachelor's degree from Luther College and his MD from the University of Minnesota Medical School. He married Ann Floreen during medical school.

An important formative experience for both Bob and Ann came during Bob's internship at West Virginia University, while Ann worked as a public health visiting nurse. Their work in the state's Appalachian "hollers" became a lifelong lesson in how deeply health is shaped by place, poverty, access and community.

Bob was drafted into the Navy during the Vietnam War era and served as a physician for the crew of a half-dozen ships. After his military service, he trained at the Mayo Clinic, where he studied hematology and worked with pediatric cancer patients - an experience he remembered as one of the most rewarding parts of his career.

Asked to remain at Mayo, Bob and Ann instead chose Duluth, where Bob joined the staff of the Duluth Clinic, now Essentia Health. He practiced hematology and oncology there for four decades, caring for patients and families through some of the most difficult moments of their lives.

His work and service were recognized widely: Bob received Luther College's Distinguished Service Award in 1999, was named Physician of the Year by the Lake Superior Medical Society in 1997 and received the same honor from the Duluth Clinic in 2003. He retired in 2011.

Along with their professional contributions to Duluth, Bob and Ann were deeply active in the community through their church, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, and other nonprofits working to address poverty, disability, housing instability and community wellbeing.

"Smitten with the outdoors very early," Bob found a natural home in northern Minnesota. He was a runner and boater who kept a 22-foot Boston Whaler on Lake Superior, where he said he spent his time "pestering the fish" and camping on docks or on one of the Apostle Islands.

In their retirement years in St. Paul, Bob's kindness was evident in the small things: the piano music drifting through the walls, the newspapers delivered to neighbors' doors, the steps shoveled before others were awake.

In a 1993 essay on science as a Christian vocation, Bob wrote that "science and Christian faith are both revelations of God's creation and love," and that scientific discovery is one way of uncovering "the complexities of creation." His life reflected that same spirit of gentleness, curiosity and service.

Bob is survived by his wife, Ann; daughters Rachel and Beth; brother John (Jan); sister-in-law Mary Niedringhaus; and many other relatives.

A visitation will honor Bob's Life at 1PM, on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 700 Snelling Ave. S., St. Paul. Memorial Service to follow at 2PM. Memorials preferred to Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota or Gloria Dei.