Roman Salm Jr.

Roman Salm Junior, 82, accepted his eternal reward on Sunday, November 12th, surrounded by the comforting conversations of loved ones, including his wife, Virginia.   

Roman, forever known to all as “Junior,” began his life on June 19th, 1941, as the fourth child of Roman and Marie (Hietpas) Salm on the French Road family farm, north of Appleton. He received his education at Saint John’s in Little Chute.  Junior married Virginia (Ebben) in 1969.

Best known as a mainstay behind the bar at the Darboy Club, Junior’s entrepreneurial spirit and love of people defined his rich, exciting, hard-working life. 

A generous and faith-filled man, Junior served Saint Edward Parish as a trustee, member of the parish council, and finance committee. He infused his business model into the parish’s annual tractor pull, initially introducing its famous fish fry and chicken dinner.  Working with surrounding parishes, he formed the Joint Parish Tent Association.

A fifty-year Catholic Knight, Junior served in the Army Reserves and American Legion Post 258.  While operating JR’s Tap, he volunteered for the Little Chute Fire Department.  A thirty-two year Tavern League member, Junior served countless customers who soon became life-long friends.

A brother in a family of thirteen, a farmer’s son, and a successful businessman, Junior purposefully instilled his strong work ethic, moral principles, and ethical guidelines in his boys.  He taught them to live, laugh, love, and to be forever thankful for all of God’s blessings. He loved his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Junior will forever love Virginia, his wife of fifty-four years.  

Junior is survived by his wife Virginia and their children and grandchildren: Paul (Emily), children:  Nico, Béla, Finn, Harper; Patrick (Jennifer), children:  Aubree, Rowan, Declan; Peter’s wife, Michelle and children:  Zipporah, Sam; and great grandchildren Sienna and Roman.

Junior is further survived by his siblings:  Doris Jansen, Marian (Jack) Vande Hey, Jerry “Soupy” (Lois) Salm, Cathy (Dick) Bauer, Bob (Gail) Salm, Dick (Peg) Salm, Deb (Steve) Halverson, Anne (Glenn) Higgins.

Junior is also survived by his in-laws: June (Dan) Pynenberg, Adrian (Lynn),Ebben, Mary (Mark) Vosters, Sherry (Tim) Leatherbury, Mark (Mary) Ebben, Mike Ebben, Ken (Carol) Vande Hey; scores of nieces and nephews, and countless friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Roman and Marie Salm; mother and father-in-law: Inez and Edward Ebben; son, Roman “Peter” Salm lll; brothers: Ray, James “Jim”, Harold “Ringo”; sister, Jan Vande Hey; brother-in-law, William “Bill” Jansen; sisters-in-law: Patti Salm and Lisa Ebben. 

A Funeral Mass for Junior will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 21, 2023 at St. Edward the Confessor of Mackville, N2926 WI-47, Appleton, WI. Visitation will begin at the church at 9:00 a.m.until the time of the Mass. For those unable to attend, the Mass will be livestreamed at www.stedwardmackville.org.

Thank you to Primrose Retirement Community for the care, compassion, and community.  Thank you to Moments Hospice, you provided for the last years of his life.  

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to:  Missionaries of Charity (please address memorials to Missionaries of Charity, ℅ Sister Lilia Rose Ebben, 2325 W. 24th Place, Chicago, Illinois, 60608), or Fox Valley Memory Project (foxvalleymemoryproject.org).

For those of you that knew Junior, loved him, prayed for him…grab some good food and drink, tell some stories, play cards, give a hug or two. Celebrate! Junior is home with his loved ones, with Pete. His hard work has finally paid off.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.