Robert Koerner

May 24, 2019

Service Details

On May 24, 2019, Robert Bennett Koerner, age 81, passed away peacefully with his loving wife Janet by his side.

He was born on August 23, 1937 to Laurence and Louise Koerner in Saint Paul, MN. He graduated from South St. Paul High School and entered the Navy where he served 3½ years, mostly in Yokosuka, Japan and then as a reserve. After his service, he attended the University of Minnesota and graduated in 1962. His first job after college was in the insurance business which took him from St. Paul to Minneapolis, to St Louis and then to Des Moines. His two employers were The Travelers and Holmes-Murphy & Associates from where he retired in 2000 after over 25 years. He proudly served as president of the Greater Des Moines Independent Agents organization.

Bob and Janet met in Minneapolis and were married almost 55 wonderful years. Together they raised three active sons who provided lots of fun at swim meets and baseball games especially. Bob coached all three boys in Little League, was president of West Des Moines Little League and Valley High School Booster Club. He also was elected to the West Des Moines Parks and Recreation Board. Saylorville Lake and Lake of the Ozarks were favorite family spots for boating. Bob and Janet loved to travel the world and felt very fortunate to be able to do so. Bob had a knack for picking up on foreign languages easily. In his down time, Bob was an avid reader, especially loving to read Grisham and Patterson, as well as anything related to history. All that reading made Bob the best at a game of Trivial Pursuit! Bob loved to golf, but once his grandchildren were playing sports, dancing, riding horses and more, you could find him cheering them on in the bleachers more often than the course.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Laurence and Louise; his sister, Laurice; his mother-in-law and three brothers-in-law. He is survived by his wife, Janet; his sons, Mike (Laura) of San Antonio, TX, Gary (Gail) of West Des Moines, and Dan of Portland, OR; his grandchildren, Jack, Caroline, Jane, Matthew, Alexandra and Eva; four nephews; and four sisters-in-law.

Bob had a lifesaving kidney transplant in 2014. Bob and his family will forever be grateful for the gift of organ donation that gave them more time together. He felt strongly about fighting Alzheimer’s as it was affecting his life. He is now free of the health issues he faced for the past 5 years with humor and dignity. The family is especially thankful for the hospice nurses and caregivers that provided loving care for Bob and support for Janet in recent months.

Memorials to consider – Iowa Methodist Transplant Center, Greater Iowa Chapter/Alzheimer’s Association or Unity Point Hospice. Condolences at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

Services will be held at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 7075 Ashworth Rd in West Des Moines, IA with visitation on Wednesday, May 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. – vigil at 6:45 p.m., and the memorial Mass on Thursday, May 30 at 10:00 a.m. Burial will be at Iowa Veterans Cemetery.

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