Oak Harbor mourns former mayor

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 9, 2026

The city of Oak Harbor lost one of its most prominent and well-known leaders on June 4.

Bob Severns, the city’s former mayor, passed away surrounded by his family, the city of Oak Harbor announced.

He was 74 years old.

While he worked at a title company during his career — a job he loved — Severns devoted his life to serving the community. He was a mainstay at the Oak Harbor Rotary Club and served on the board of the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce three different times. He was a city council member before being elected as mayor, serving two consecutive terms.

In 2023, Severns decided not to run for reelection after dealing with health problems, including breaking his femur during a boating trip and then having heart surgery. More recently, he suffered a stroke that left him immobilized.

Outside his tireless efforts to improve the city — especially the business climate — Severns lived a full and very interesting life. His relationship with his wife and biggest supporter, Rhonda, was very close, exemplified by the image of them holding hands as they walked around town. The News-Times ran a Valentine’s story about their storybook romance in 2016.

Severns’ longstanding friendship with Christon Skinner, now a superior court judge, is well-known locally. Skinner said they were friends for 43 years and business partners for over 20 years; they owned real estate together, including the Flyers building until last year.

“We were extremely compatible. We had a trusting relationship,” he said.

Skinner has no shortage of amusing stories about his friend, many involving a good bottle and an outing aboard the Grey Goose, his longtime boat. Just before Severns passed, Skinner brought a “polite beverage” to his bedside, and they had their final toast in paper cups.

Dutch Strehle said he and Severns, and the rest of the family, had many good times together, including trips to Hawaii and other beautiful places. Strehle became Severns’ father-in-law after marrying Rhonda’s mother. The fact that they are only nine years apart in age resulted in a lot of good-natured ribbing.

“He was a very good guy. Very intelligent and soft spoken,” he said. “You couldn’t ask for a better son-in-law or friend.”

Severns touched many lives through his personal, civic and professional endeavors.

Chris Grovdahl worked with Severns at Island Title and after it was purchased by Chicago Title, Severns became president of Chicago Title’s Island Division. She said he understood the importance of the somewhat unusual job and that he always treated her with respect, which wasn’t always the case for women in office settings years ago.

“I really liked working with him,” she said. “He was always professional.”

In a statement from the city, Mayor Ronnie Wright praised Severns for devoting “countless hours to making our city a better place.”

“The City of Oak Harbor extends its deepest condolences to his family, friends, and all who had the privilege of knowing and working alongside him,” the statement said. “His contributions to Oak Harbor will not be forgotten, and his legacy will continue to be felt throughout the community he loved and served.”

Severns’ good-natured folksiness led to astute storytelling. As Skinner explained, his friend’s “claim to fame” was his job as a turkey inseminator in his youth, and he loved weaving the humorous tale.

“Every year, the story got bigger and bigger,” he joked.

Skinner explained that during the 1970s and 1980s, the duo emceed the “wild” days of the Luck O’ the Irish fundraiser, doing their best Laurel-and-Hardy routine and raising gads of money for charitable causes. Ever true to form, Severns played the straight man.

The friends’ more recent hijinks involved their decision to buy an 8-acre property on Decatur Island, which turned out to be inhabited by some unusual folks. Skinner said their “weird” experiences began with learning that a dead dog had been kept in a freezer on the property. They found a neighboring gate decorated with animal skulls.

When a mooring buoy drifted in the middle of the night, their boat ended up “high and dry” on a beach, but everyone just ignored their predicament.

But eventually, Skinner said, the two men came to feel welcome and accepted among the island’s residents.

Skinner said he’s going to miss his adventures with his friend.

“He really, really cared about his family, his friends and the Oak Harbor community,” he said. “I will miss him.”