FRUITLAND PARK, Fla. – Robert “Bob” Ernest Kirouac, 75, passed away peacefully on Friday, May 29, 2020, after a long, brave battle with respiratory illness.Ever the jokester, it is apt that he was born on April Fool’s Day in 1945, the son of Jeannette (Albert) Kirouac and George Duplessis of Lewiston. Bob was a restless spirit who enjoyed traveling, spending time with family and friends, and the love of numerous cats and dogs. He was a founding member of The Dad Joke, and often could be found mortifying his youngest daughter by following her around, his leg dragging behind him, while invoking Quasimodo moaning, “Sanctuary!”He held a variety of eclectic jobs over the years, but his true passions in life were found elsewhere. Fishing and camping were favorite pastimes, and he spent many years in a canoe at Allen Pond Campground in Greene, later proudly showing off his catch in photographs. Bob also loved to tell stories of his travels and celebrity encounters over the years.One of his favorite yarns to spin was about the time he had coffee with a drunken Robert Goulet, who had just sung — and apparently butchered — “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Ali – Liston fight in Lewiston in 1965. Bob possessed a potpourri of such stories, but decorum prohibits this writer from sharing them, here. He loved to laugh, and counted The Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, Jim Carrey, Leslie Nielsen, and Steve Martin among his favorite performers. Bob is survived by the following family members: two brothers, David Kirouac and his wife, Bridgit of Hobe Sound, Fla., Ron Kirouac and his wife, Kathy of Fresno, Calif., and sister, Linda Allard of Beverly Hills, Fla. He had five children, Debra Kirouac of Shelton, Conn., Laurie Ford and Brian Kirouac of Lewiston, Tina Caron of Sabattus, and Ken Kirouac of Boynton Beach, Fla. Those children gave him seven grandchildren and four great – grandchildren. Bob also had many nephews and nieces.Bob was predeceased by his stepfather, Laurien “Larry” Kirouac, mother Jeannette Kirouac, father George Duplessis; and brothers, Paul Kirouac, George “Sonny” Duplessis, and (baby) Joseph Paul Duplessis. Bob’s family would like to thank The Villages Hospice House in Sumter County, Fla., for making his final days as comfortable and peaceful as possible.