Bob Uecker's TV daughter remembers him as second father

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Among the many heartfelt messages posted after the news of legendary Milwaukee Brewers announcer Bob Uecker, was one from Tracy Tofte, formerly Tracy Wells, Bob's TV daughter on the 80's sitcom "Mr. Belvedere."

"He was a second dad to me. He always has been. I've known Bob since I was 12." Tofte told CBS 58's Mike Curkov on Thursday morning, Jan. 16, from her home in California.

Since that first season on set, and especially after Tofte's mother passed away three years into the show, Bob and Judy Uecker became family to Tracy.

"He's always been a part of my life." she said. "I literally just saw him less than 3 weeks ago. I was in Menomonee Falls. I visited him and spent some time with him and Judy. It's heartbreaking because I can still hear his voice."

Tracy says she came to visit the Uecker's in Wisconsin and that point, they and she knew Bob's time was running short.

"He basically said, you know, I've lived a great life." She recalled of their final conversations. "I knew he wasn't doing the treatment anymore. It was too hard. And he had just accepted his fate."

He lived a great life and made a profound impact. Everyone he met seemed to leave with a great Uecker story.

"We would turn on the TV on set when there was a baseball game." Tofte remembered from their Mr. Belvedere days. "And we would turn the volume down. He would announce the game. Everyone would grab their chairs and sit around TV and... that's just Bob."

"I'll forever be his kitten." she said of the pet name Uecker's character, George Owns, had for her character, Heather Owens. A nickname that stuck in real life.,

She says she understands why Uecker means so much to so many people.

"I feel like Bob had a way of making us feel like we knew him." Tofte said. "That he cared about us, and we cared about him. I mean, he was a celebrity, but he was so approachable. He was like your friend Bob."