Robert "Bob" Dean Deppe
August 8, 1929 - May 4, 2025

Robert "Bob" Dean Deppe

"An Iowa farm boy in hard times, a young Marine, scholar, husband, educator, businessman, father, thinker, leader. Cherished friend!" Bob Deppe, described by a friend of seventy-five years.

Robert Dean Deppe, 95, of Ames passed away on May 4th, 2025. Robert (Bob) was born to Edward and Nan (Jordt) Deppe August 8, 1929. He was born at home, on the farm established by his great-grandfather, near Keystone, Benton County, Iowa. He was the fifth of six siblings who all attended Missouri Synod Lutheran parochial school in town for eight years. He was confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in Keystone. His family lost their farm and moved to Cedar Rapids, where he entered Wilson High School. Needing to work, he could not take part in high school sports or music. He delivered the Chicago Tribune all over Cedar Rapids by bicycle, washed milk bottles at Krebs Dairy, and set pins at a bowling alley. For two years he was a Golden Gloves boxer, traveling around Iowa for matches. After graduation in June 1946, Bob was inducted into the U.S. Marine Corps on his 17th birthday. He traveled by train to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego for basic training and served as Sergeant of the Guard at the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station at Keyport, Washington, on Puget Sound. His active duty ended March 29, 1948, with reserve duty lasting until 1950.

Bob worked as a farm hand back in Keystone until December 1949, when the G.I. Bill made it possible for him to attend Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls (now UNI). He augmented his service benefits with jobs as a short order cook and taxi driver, delivered office furniture, and lugged beef at the Rath Packing Company. As a member of the Student League Board at I.S.T.C., he met Carol Froning and they started dating. Bob graduated with a major in Social Studies and a minor in English.

Bob taught American History and Problems of Democracy for three years at Monticello High School, managing the rare (in those days) outdoor swimming pool one summer. The next summer he and Carol carpooled with other teachers to attend graduate classes in Iowa City. Bob was president of the Jones County Teachers' Council and was in the group that purchased Salisbury House in Des Moines to be headquarters for the Iowa State Education Association.

After Bob's first year of teaching, he and Carol were married May 30, 1954, at St. Paul's Methodist Church in La Porte City. She joined him on the faculty, teaching vocal music, grades one through twelve. Their superintendent told them they were the first married couple in Iowa to teach full time in the same building.

They moved to Ames July 1, 1956, and entered the grain elevator business in partnership with Gladys Froning. In 1960, Bob became the sole owner of the Kelley elevator, and in 1966, he bought the one at Fernald, near Nevada. He built new feed mills at each place, along with corn storage. In Ames, Bob built two corrugated steel bins, each holding 144,000 bushels. The Fernald area farmers insisted that Bob host a sweet corn feed. They planted corn, got the fertilizer salesman to donate fertilizer, and brought in tables, benches, and a hog scalding kettle to boil the corn and baloney. This event became a staple of the community for years until Bob sold the business. Toward the end of his time as a grain elevator owner and operator, he began his 13 years as a traveling salesman for Seedburo Equipment, calling on grain elevators, selling moisture testers and grain scales.

Bob's community involvement included an active membership in First United Methodist Church, the Chamber of Commerce Ag Committee, and Jaycees. As a member of the Friday noon Kiwanis Club, he was the chief pancake flipper and winning ticket seller for many years at the yearly fundraiser. He was elected to the Ames School District Board, serving two terms in the 1970s, and campaigning for girls' sports. Bob served on the First National Bank Board from 1974-1997 and the Ames National Corporation Board 1975-2000.

Bob listened to classical music often, especially when driving. The whole family enjoyed the Ames International Orchestra Festival Association concerts. When Bob got his pilot's license, they enjoyed flying with him in the Cessna he owned with three others. He took many flights to Lake of the Woods for walleye fishing and shore lunches with family and friends.

Bob wanted his kids and all the kids in the community to have access to a wide range of activities. He somehow made time to attend each of the sporting, choral, drama and music events that his children were in. He could be counted on to provide tractor rides (lawn and big tractors) for his kids, grandkids and the neighbor kids, too. His children grew up enjoying trips to the farm near Ames where they could ramble around with the family dog and have picnics.

Bob managed farms in six Iowa counties for himself and for family. He was proud of the conservation work he completed on the farmland he managed. He built terraces, buffer strips, and a step-toe dam. In 2020, Bob and Carol's 127-acre sale/donation to Story County Conservation substantially increased available park land adjacent to McFarland Park. Now, the farm their kids played on, just across the road, will be open to the public as additional park space for the county with picnic areas and hiking trails. The terraces used to protect against erosion will be maintained and used for education about land conservation. Bob's commitment to conservation, education and community will live on in the Deppe Family Conservation Area.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Ed and Nan Deppe; siblings and spouses Lillian (Leonard) Pohlmann, Jeanne (Wilbert) Stein, Arlene (Howard) Fintel, James (Allie) Deppe, and Richard (Donna) Deppe.

Robert is survived by his wife, Carol Deppe, of Ames, and five children: Linda Deppe of Milwaukie, Oregon, Susan Deppe (Steve Oakland) of Colchester, Vermont, Barbara Deppe (Karl Beuschlein) of Bainbridge Island, Washington, Michael Deppe (Rachel Richardson) of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Roberta Deppe (Andrew Gibson) of Portland, Oregon. He is survived by five grandchildren: Samuel Moody (fiancée Sammi Teo), Louisa Richardson-Deppe, Nathaniel Moody, Charlotte Richardson-Deppe, and Isabelle Gibson (fiancé Nicolaus Walther) and many deeply loved nieces and nephews.

A public visitation will be held on Monday, June 2, 2025, from 4-6:00 p.m. at First United Methodist Church (516 Kellogg Ave, Ames, Iowa 50010), with a Celebration of Life held on Tuesday, June 3, at 11:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church.

Online condolences may be directed to www.grandonfuneralandcremationcare.com

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests gifts to Camp Courageous: https://campcourageous.org/donate/
Story County Conservation: https://www.mycountyparks.com/County/Story/Donations. https://www.storycountyiowa.gov/1557/Deppe-Family-Conservation-Area
First United Methodist Church: https://onrealm.org/fumcames/-/form/give/now

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