Brother Robert “Bob” Trefzger was born in Waukegan, IL on March 15, l954, the youngest child of the Rev. Dr. John D. and Marilyn Wilson Trefzger. His family moved to Bloomington, IL when Bob was 3 years old.
Brother Trefzger attended public schools in Bloomington and was always involved with academics and distance running. He was the State of Illinois half-mile champion in 1969 for Freshmen, and earned 8 athletic letters while at Bloomington High School in Track and Cross Country. In 1971 he was named to the Illinois High School Association’s (IHSA) All-State Cross Country Team.
In 1974, Bob married Connie Lynn Brummet who grew up in Mattoon, IL. Bob and Connie have two children, Sarah and Paul (deceased), as well as ten grandchildren. Connie and Bob enjoy traveling, and to date, Bob has traveled to all 50 US states, as well as 37 countries.
Academically, Brother Trefzger graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) with highest honors in Mathematics and Computer Science. He also holds a graduate degree in Mathematics (Statistics) from Illinois State University, and completed post-graduate studies in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Illinois.
In his professional life, Brother Trefzger returned to Bloomington and worked for State Farm Insurance Companies for 42 years, retiring in 2018 as the Director of their Advanced Analytics function, where he developed and managed State Farm’s Loss Predictive Research program as well as its Mathematical Modeling and Data Science areas for the enterprise Bob was best known as a pioneer in the invention and development of statistically-based Insurance Risk Models, techniques which are now widely used throughout the United States in the individual risk selection and pricing of property/casualty insurance policies. Bob is an inventor on two US patents, and has served as a consultant and an expert witness on quantitative and research matters in litigation and public hearings.
Brother Trefzger has served his church as treasurer, deacon, and elder, as well as a teacher of adult Sunday School classes. He has a passion for Christian mission and has volunteered to work on building projects in several locations in the US and Mexico. Additionally, Bob was a long-time member of the cast of the American Passion Play, where he took on many roles over the years, most recently portraying the part of Judas Iscariot during the last 33 years of the play’s 100-year run.
Brother Trefzger is a 5th generation Scottish Rite Mason. He belongs to Bloomington Lodge #43, the Valley of Bloomington Scottish Rite, and the Bloomington York Rite Bodies. Bob joined the Scottish Rite in 1983, received the 33rd Degree at Chicago in 2006, and has served as the Valley of Bloomington’s Most Wise Master, and Commander-in-Chief, in addition to many terms on its Board of Trustees.
Over the years, Brother Trefzger has been very active in portraying roles in Scottish Rite degree work, and was awarded the Bloomington Medal for Reunion Service, as well as for Fellowship. Recently, Bob was honored with the Illinois Council of Deliberation’s Distinguished Service Award, and is now an Active Member of the NMJ Supreme Council.
Bob has also been involved in a variety of Illinois Grand Lodge activity. He was a charter member of the inaugural ILCHIP committee, and for many years has been a member of the Board of Managers for Illinois Masonic Outreach Services (IMOS), serving now as its chairman.