Robert Patrick Reyes

Robert P. Reyes

Robert Patrick Reyes (he really didn’t like his middle name) was born on May 5, 1921, to Joseph A. Reyes and Virginia (Cervantes) Reyes on the south side of Des Moines. He passed away at home of natural causes, on April 18, 2022, age 100, just 18 days shy of his 101st birthday… a goal he had hoped to reach.

Robert was one of 10 boys and one girl of a proud Hispanic family. He learned his work ethic at a young age. He picked 20 bushels of apples for his mother and watched as she made apple sauce, apple jelly and anything apple you could think of. He helped build the fire under a washtub in the back yard so his mother could boil corn for all of the family, plus friends who were always stopping by the Reyes house.

Robert was very smart, his granddaughter always said he was “wise, like an owl”, but he didn’t exert himself in academics at Lincoln High School, which was up the street from his home. He was always thrilled when he was pulled from class to paint sets for school plays or posters for different school events. He, like most of his siblings, was artistically talented. This talent apparently skipped a generation, but was a talent he passed on to at least one of his grandchildren.

Robert was athletic and a sports enthusiast. He was a track star at Lincoln High School and his relay team’s record hung on the wall of Lincoln for decades after he left the school. He was an excellent football player. Lincoln’s coach pleaded with Robert’s mother to let him play football for the school, but she refused. She obviously knew more about the dangers that were learned about later. Robert’s love of football caused him to sneak to play. He never disobeyed his mother before, but she never knew he played on a semi-pro team in Des Moines.

As a youngster Robert would walk from the Des Moines southside to the fairgrounds area with some of his brothers to work in his oldest brother’s garden all day long, and then the boys would walk back home, a distance of about 6 miles one way. He had the green thumb of his mother, whose flowers were the talk of the neighborhood. Later in life the garden Robert planted every year was proof of that. His garden was large and meticulously cultivated. Totally weed free. No chemicals were used. He hoed out all of the weeds. This year, 2022, will be the first year there won’t be a garden in his backyard. The neighbors and family will be sad, because he always shared his tomatoes, green peppers, cabbages, egg plants and corn with them.

The Great Depression of the 1930’s affected his family. To feed the large Reyes family, Robert’s mother resorted to every means to make meals stretch. Enchiladas and tamales were staples. His father was a railroad worker and also sold fruits and vegetables from a cart he pulled. Robert often went with his papa to help pull the cart and sell the produce.

Robert learned to golf by becoming a caddy at Wakonda Club. He first refused to “pull a golf cart for a bunch of rich people” until his brother Henry came home with MONEY, and lots of it. Robert was pulling a golf cart for a “rich man” the next day. Caddies were allowed to play golf for free at the club on Tuesdays and Robert took advantage of it. He learned to play well enough that he got a hole in one! As an adult, he had a foursome that played early every Sunday morning at Grandview Golf Course for years. When he was in his early 90’s, one of his daughters and her husband took him to the Principal Classic at Wakonda the day they honored veterans. Robert was treated like royalty and enjoyed his day so much! He even remembered where he got his hole in one and reminisced about his days as a caddy as he looked over the golf course.

When the attack on Pearl Harbor happened in 1941, several of his older brothers joined military service. Robert was going to be drafted into the Army. Forget that! Marching wasn’t for him so he joined the Navy! A total of 6 Reyes boys were in the service during WWII, covering every branch of the service. All made it home.

As fate would have it, before Robert was shipped overseas, his world suddenly changed. He met Wanda McAfee on a blind date of sorts, and he knew immediately that she was the one for him. They dated a short while and then were married. He had truly found the love of his life. He was sent to the Navy base in Gulf Port, Louisiana. Wanda joined him and they rented an apartment together in Algiers, Louisiana until he shipped out.

Robert’s time in the Navy fulfilled the Navy’s promise “Join the Navy and see the world!” He sailed the South Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. His ship was torpedoed and sunk. But Robert survived and spent three days floating, thinking he would die alone at sea, when a freighter saw him and picked him up. He finished his military duty in Shanghai, China before heading stateside to California at the end of the war. He then made his way home to Des Moines where he and Wanda started a family.

Robert and Wanda had two daughters. Carolyn and Marilyn. They spent their entire married years living on the eastside of Des Moines. Life was good. Robert worked as a warehouse manager for Mead Farm Equipment before becoming a truck driver. He was a proud Teamsters Union member and proud of his job as a truck driver.

Robert was a Yankee fan. He raised his daughters to be Yankee fans. In summers, whenever the Yankees played the Kansas City Athletics, he would take the family to Kansas City to cheer on their team. The girls learned to yell their loudest for the Yankees and learned all of the team’s players and their positions. They all saw Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford…the famed Bronx Bombers!

Robert and Wanda watched their daughters grow, marry, and give them grandkids. Carolyn and Marilyn could not have asked for a better set of parents. They wanted for nothing so it was a surprise, after they had children of their own, to realize just how much their parents had sacrificed to give them such a great life.

Robert and Wanda lived their dream in the house Robert and his brother Charles, built. They live there for the rest of their lives and couldn’t have been happier. They taught their children and grandchildren life lessons that have followed them. They have left living legacies. They were proud of each family member and gave them support in every way possible. All the children and grandchildren saw what love was and what it meant.

One of the highlights of Robert’s life was when he took an Honor Flight sponsored by Casey’s General Stores, to Washington DC. It was a day touring the area and seeing all of the WWII memorials and the city with his veteran peers. The smile on his face when he returned home told it all. He was forever proud to be a WWII Navy Veteran and wore his Honor Flight hat and jacket proudly. He frequently shared his WWII experiences with family and friends and spoke at school events.

Robert’s world came crashing down on October 14, 2018, when Wanda passed away. To say he was devastated would not begin to cover it. They were just under one month from their 75th wedding anniversary.

Life for Robert changed. He missed Wanda every minute of every day. His only goal left was to finish his life and join her again. He would continue to sing to her and talk to her. That kept him going. Still, he missed her and his family knew that. When he passed away, they all knew it was what he had been waiting for these past three and one half years. That has not made it any easier for the family, but there is comfort in that.

Robert was preceded in death by his parents Joseph Sr. and Virginia, his brothers Frank, Joseph Jr., Alphonso, Ralph, Daniel, David, Charles, Henry, and Richard, and his sister Irene Tonsi.

Surviving are his daughters Carolyn Nelson and Marilyn (Dan) Josephsen, his grandchildren April Nelson, Evern (Alisha) Hunter, Alan (Shauna Quillen) Nelson, Kari Glenn, Jared (Shriya) Josephsen, Lisa (Dax Wedemeyer) Josephsen, and Jordan (Sarah Borzo) Josephsen, step-grandchildren Justin (Ellen) Josephsen, Brandon (Kelly) Josephsen, Bradley, Matthew, Kate and Evan Josephsen, and Anthony, Allison Josephsen, and Brooklynn White, great-grandchildren Autum (Isaiah Bates) Nelson, Kal (Noah Rice) Nelson, Sebastian Nelson, Koral Glenn, Ethan Glenn, Wyatt Glenn, Lewis Glenn, Landon Josephsen, Joren Josephsen, Trinity Nelson, Nataleigh Nelson, Shyann Nelson, and Sariaya Nelson, and great-great-grandson Austin Nelson.

Robert’s family has learned how much he meant to others. He never knew a stranger and treated all with kindness and respect. The proof is in all of the accolades the family has received since his passing. He was loved and respected by all who knew him. Family and friends will miss his smile, his jokes, and his guidance.

Memorial contributions may be directed to Des Moines Seventh-day Adventist Church in Robert’s memory.

Visitation will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, April 28, 2022, with funeral service following at 11:00 a.m., at Des Moines Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 2317 Watrous Avenue, Des Moines. Burial will be held at 9:30 a.m., Friday, April 29, 2022 at Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Adel.

Condolences may be expressed at: www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com

Print