Siepmann, Robert Harvey 1927-2015

SIEPMANN, SHAFFER, MILLER

Posted By: Linda Ziemann, volunteer (email)
Date: 5/21/2022 at 16:14:35

Bob Siepmann, 88, passed away November 18, 2015 at the Central Iowa Veterans Health Care System's Community Living Center in Des Moines.

Bob was born January 1, 1927 in Algona, Iowa to William H. and Frances V. (Shaffer) Siepmann. He was the youngest of six children. His family lived in Algona until after his father's death and his mother came to Des Moines to work in the ordinance plant during World War II. He worked during high school at Younker Brothers in window displays until he enlisted in the Navy shortly after his 18th birthday.

He was sent to the Philippines in the 61st Naval Construction Battalion (Seabees). It was there that he lost his leg when a Navy pilot came down the center of a runway he was building. He spent several years at the Naval Hospital at San Francisco recovering from his injuries.

Bob and his brother Don had their names on the Younker's Veterans Recognition display until the fire at the former downtown Des Moines store March 29, 2014.

Bob met his wife Shirley J. Miller at a Des Moines Ground Observer Corps Filter Center in the early 1950s. They were married May 1, 1955. They had three children, Robert B. "Ben", Stacey and Becky. He was a small appliance repairman until he retired in the early 1990s.

Bob bowled in a league for several years at Van Ginkel Lanes in the early 1960s and enjoyed watching bowling tournaments whenever they were on TV. He was an assistant leader to Ben's Boy Scout troop. Bob was one of the first amputees who earned the Order of the Arrow from the Mid-Iowa Council of the Boy Scouts in the early 1970s.

In his later years he was blessed with his three grandchildren Valerie (Joel) Isenberg, Josh (Caitlin) Berry and Alyssa (Shane) Luvaas. In the last several years he also became a great grandfather to Kahlen and Paxton Luvaas and Noah Berry.

He spent the last 2.5 years living with his daughter Becky and son-in-law Willie in Williamsburg, Iowa. He returned to Des Moines for hospice care at the Department of Veterans' Affairs Community Living Center on November 10, 2015.

Bob was preceded in death by his wife Shirley, son Ben, brothers Bill, Clare, Leonard and Don, his sister Wilma Froehlich and his parents William and Frances.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, November 23, 2015 at Iles Dunn's Chapel. Interment will be at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter, Iowa. Visitation will be held from 2-4:00 p.m., Sunday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to the Alzheimer's Association or your local Disabled American Veterans office.