Bob White

Robert “Bob” William White was born July 11, 1938 in Des Moines, Iowa, to Thomas Erwin and Margaret Marie (Reed) White.  He passed away Sunday September 18, 2022 at University Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa with his family by his side, from complications of a stroke.

In 1940 his family moved from Des Moines to a farm in Liberty Township in Clarke County, Iowa. Bob attended Center School, a one room country school in Liberty Township through eighth grade. He attended Sunday school at Center Church, both school and church were down the road from the house where they lived.  He and his brother Tom enjoyed spending time with their grandparents who lived on a farm south of where they lived. The boys grew up playing outside and in a cave on their farm even though their mom told them to stay out of it.

After graduating from Osceola High School in 1956 he attended U. S. Trade School in Kansas City completing a course in Auto Mechanics. In 1957 he commenced working for Clarke County Secondary Road Department as a Heavy Equipment Operator.

Bob served in the U. S. Navy Seabees Reserve from 1961-1967 serving in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and Cuba. Returning to Osceola he continued working with the Secondary Road Department as part of the survey crew helping design and inspect roads.

Bob and Marie Gardner were married April 4, 1970 and started their life together in Osceola. They were parents of two children, Greg and Brenda.

Family was an important part of his life. In researching his family history Bob found his daughter Brenda was the second child of the second son of the second son of the second son of the White family member that emigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1867.

Bob and Marie owned and operated White’s Furniture in Osceola for 20 years from 1973-1993. After selling the furniture store Bob worked at Peoples Abstract in Des Moines until he retired in 2011. He served one term on the Osceola City Council and a member of the Clarke County Historical Society and Osceola Masonic Lodge #77. Bob enjoyed working on cars, attending drag races, especially the National Drags at Indy on Labor Day, traveling with Marie in their RV, family vacations with their grandchildren and was a dedicated Green Bay Packers fan for over 60 years.

Bob was a 63-year member of Osceola Masonic Lodge #77 and past member of the Scottish Rite Consistory. He was very proud of being a Mason. He served as Worshipful Master of the Osceola Masonic Lodge in 1969 and 1977 and Lodge Secretary in 1979 and District Lecturer in 2007. He served as Senior Grand Deacon for the Grand Lodge of Iowa 2016-2017, traveling to other area lodges to help out filling in any part as needed.

Bob was preceded in death by son Greg, parents Thomas and Margaret White and other family members.

Survivors include his wife, Marie; daughter Brenda (Donnie) White of Waukee; granddaughter Army PFC Ashleigh White of Manhattan, Kansas; grandson Dakota White of Waukee; brother Tom White of Mason; Ohio, sister-in-law Nancy and husband Stan Saddoris of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, nieces, and nephews.

A Celebration of Life and visitation will be held Saturday October 1 at Kale Funeral Home in Osceola 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. with military and Masonic rites at 3 p.m. Memorial to the family for fitting tributes to be decided later.

On-line condolences may be made at www.kalefuneralhome.com