Robert Dean 'Bob' Sandersfeld, 20 Nov 1937 - 03 Mar 2025

SANDERSFELD, WITTE, SEIFERT, GEHMAN, KLEINMEYER, FOLKMANN

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 3/13/2025 at 14:01:49

Robert “Bob” D. Sandersfeld, age, 87, of Amana, passed away Monday, March 3, 2025, at Harmony Nursing Home in Cedar Rapids. Visitation: 4 to 7 p.m., Friday, March 7, 2025, at Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo. Funeral: 10:30 a.m., Saturday, March 8, 2025, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, rural Homestead, with Rev. Gary Sears officiating. Burial will be in the St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery, rural Homestead. A memorial fund has been established.

Bob is survived by his loving wife, Annette of Amana, his children, Rick Sandersfeld of Amana, Shawn (Jennifer) Sandersfeld of Middle Amana, Wendy Sandersfeld of Amana, and Joel Sandersfeld of Olathe, Kansas; 11 grandchildren, Erich (Kari) Sandersfeld, Hannah (Kaleb) Gehman, Gunther Sandersfeld, Berend Sandersfeld, Jürgen Sandersfeld, Anton Sandersfeld, Reiner Sandersfeld, Otto Sandersfeld, Jacob Sandersfeld, Noah Sandersfeld, and Evelyn Sandersfeld; and two greatgrandchildren, Dax Sandersfeld and Rory Sandersfeld.

He is preceded in death by his parents, his siblings Victor Sandersfeld, Russell Sandersfeld, Dolores Kleinmeyer and LaVerna Folkmann. Robert Dean Sandersfeld was born November 20, 1937, in rural Homestead, the youngest son of Rudolph and Dora (Witte) Sandersfeld. He grew up on the family farm and served in the U.S. Army from 1955-1957. When his service ended, He worked for John Wetjen Construction, Swartzendruber Construction, The Homestead Feed Mill and the Ox Yoke Inn. Following that, he managed the Colony Village Restaurant with his brother, Russell Sandersfeld. It was a true family business as he worked closely with his wife and children, his sisters, his mother and many relatives. He served as a gracious host, welcoming guests for forty-seven years. He could also step in as a cook, bake his famous cinnamon rolls, maintain the equipment and order the food.

On June, 11th, 1960, he married Annette Seifert and enjoyed sixty-four years together. He was a devoted husband and father. His pride and joy were his children, eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who often drew out his endearing chuckle.

Being a very gifted carpenter and woodworker, he built things better than they had to be. He crafted many pieces of heirloom furniture with his motto; “measure twice, cut once.” His grandkids loved working alongside him on construction projects, hearing him make jokes along the way. Bob was a physically strong man, even into older age, tackling with endurance large projects that included converting an attic into a family room and an Amana Home into apartments with his grandsons.

He tinkered around with everything; assembling, and re-assembling things with persistence until they worked. Bob was tireless in helping his family, whether it was a leaky sink, laying tile or hanging and mudding drywall. He never hesitated to help and was a very hard worker, undaunted at the prospect of trying something new. “Grandpa can fix anything” they said and oftentimes he made it better than it was before.

Without ever having a lesson or being able to read music, Bob was a fantastic musician. He performed as a singer and played guitar, bass, and steel guitar with family members in two bands; the “Buzzin’ Cousins” and “Country Express”. He was also very supportive of his family in their music endeavors by attending many concerts.

He was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church near Homestead, Iowa. Bob was a quiet man of faith, the 23rd Psalm clearly being a childhood favorite passage of his that he remembered to the end. His character was marked by faithfulness and integrity; if he said he was going to do something, you could count on it. As a helping and caring father and grandfather, he will be dearly missed by his loving family.

The family would like to thank the staff at Unity Point Transitional Care Center and at Harmony Cedar Rapids for their wonderful care.

Published in The Gazette on March 6, 2025.