Robert Lepley
December 25, 2009
Robert Lepley, 86, passed away December 25, 2009 at Bright Kavanagh House.
Robert was born September 4, 1923 in Tulare, SD. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII and was awarded the Bronze and Combat Infantry Medals of Honor. He then went on to serve in the Air Force Reserves for 23 years. Robert lived in Des Moines since 1953 and worked as a funeral director for Hamilton’s Funeral Home, retiring after 35 years of service. Following retirement, he worked for Pioneer Hybrid for another 20 years. Robert enjoyed fishing and mushroom hunting.
Robert is survived by his wife of 63 years, Helen Lepley of Des Moines; sons, Michael (Jane) Lepley of Urbandale and Robert (Angie) Lepley of Melcher Dallas; ten grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Amanda the Panda.
www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com
Kevin Davis and Tami West
12/29/2009
Helen,
Tami and I want to convey our deepest regrets for your loss. When I was growing up Bob was always there for our family. When Dad had his first heart attack, Bob took me fishing many times. We always had a great laugh. I remember one time Dad, Barb, Bob, and I went mushroom hunting. We got lost in the woods, it rained liked I had never seen before, we were soaked to the bone. Then the car got stuck in the mud. We were lucky a ole boy came by in a tractor and pulled us out. I will always have great memories of Bob.
Aloha,
Kev and Tami
Dick and Linda Christensen
12/28/2009
Dear Helen and family,
I am sorry to hear of Bob's passing but I know he was in a long and difficult fight. I can hardly believe that Bob spent 20 years with Pioneer. To be sure he was one of the finest men I have ever had the pleasure to work with at any time. Bob always had a smile and always seem to find the best in any situation no matter the difficulty of the task or individual involved. He was a very good man. We know that he will be missed and our condolences go to all of the Lepley family.
Sincerely,
Dick and Linda Christensen
Raleigh, North Carolina
Terri Voegtlin Kane
12/28/2009
I was sad to read of Bob's passing. He had to be one of the nicest, caring people I had ever met. He had such compassion and it showed when he dealt with our family several times through his job at Hamiltons.
He was a wonderful neighbor to my grandparents (Hoyt and Lydia Voegtlin).
Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers and I will always remember dear sweet Bob.
With heartfelt sympathy,
Terri Voegtlin
Lori Woolery
12/26/2009
Dear Helen and family . . .
I know you will miss Bob so very much, beyond words.
And I'll miss him too.
He was a wonderful person and I really enjoyed having you two as neighbors.
But, it was even more than just neighbors . . . you became my friends.
I have a lot of fond memories of you two together. I only lived next to you for 9 years, but there were never more caring and loving neighbors in my life.
Remembering the Hawaiian dinner in my back yard when I came back from the Islands . . .
Remembering the garden and the great vegetables Bob would bring me. Also the year he watered and fertilized the grapevines so I could try making wine. But, I only ended up making some jars of jelly . . .
Remembering how Bob cared for your flowers everyday, and planted milkweed for the Monarchs . . .
Remembering all the advice Bob gave me about the grass, flowers, and so many tools . . .
Remembering those cold winter days when we'd be outside blowing off the sidewalks and how he'd always help with my driveway . . .
Remembering how cool he thought my chipper/shredder was. So cool, that he even came over a few times just to help rake leaves into it, so I could enrich my composte pile out back . . .
Remembering all the times in the past year, you sat outside together enjoying the sun and watching the birds flying in and out of the downspout of your house. Bob always said he couldn't close it up because those darn birds kept building nests up there . . .
Most of all I'll remember how you watched out for and took care of each other . . . with so much love, in everything you did.
The world is a little sadder place today, now that Bob is no longer here.
But the world was also a little better place because Bob was here for 86 years.
My heart is with you Helen . . .
Love,
Lori