Robert E. Worden

Robert (Bob) Edward Worden, 89, died peacefully Sunday, November 8 at Bright Kavanagh Hospice with his loving family at his side. Bob was born August 26, 1920 to Edward Turner Worden, Jr. and Rose Marie (Lang) Worden in Marshalltown, Iowa. He graduated from St. Mary's Catholic School and attended Marshalltown Community College, where he played basketball. He graduated from Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa, where he was a member of Who's Who and the Naval Reserve. He served in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946 in the Atlantic and South Pacific theatres as a gunnery officer aboard destroyer escorts and troop transports. While attending gunnery school in Miami, Florida he met his future wife, Thelma Livezey, who was serving in the Coast Guard and were married August 16, 1945. Bob and Thelma lived in Marshalltown where Bob worked with his father, brother Jim and uncle Frank at the family owned Worden's Sanitary Dairy. He also worked for the Paul Brothers Alfalfa Processing Plant in Laurel as office manager. He worked for Schering-Plough, Animal Health Division, as Midwest Regional Manager for 25 years, retiring in 1980. Bob retired from the Naval Reserve in 1980 with the rank of Lt. Cdr. He traveled with an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. in 2007 with his wife and son. Bob had a passion for small mouth bass and walleye fishing and annual family canoe trips, initiating interested grandchildren as they grew old enough to participate. He loved working in his yard, gardening, writing letters to the editor of the Des Moines Register and spending time at his cabin at Lake Rathbun. He also enjoyed his USS Tisdale reunions with his shipmates. Bob was a member of the American Legion and St. Pius X Church. He also was a member of and served as secretary of Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) for over 20 years. Bob is survived by his wife of 64 years, Thelma, daughters Betsy (Tom) Horton of Dubuque and Martha (Clair) Sumner of West Des Moines, son John (Beverly) of Green Mountain, Iowa, sisters Jane (Don) Gaffney and Barbara (Glenn) Ytzen of Marshalltown and Beverly Duffy of Williamston, MI and sister-in-law LaVonne Worden of Marshalltown; grandchildren Bart (Lorna) Horton, Monument, CO; Kate Horton, Denver, CO; Sarah Horton, Jackson Hole, WY; Michelle (Jeff) Carver, Des Moines; Lindsey (Kevin) Georges, Cheyenne, WY; Chris Sumner, West Des Moines; William Worden, Green Mountain; and great grandchildren Jordan Plymale, Barrett Georges, Max and Oliver Horton, and many nieces and nephews. Visitation will be 4pm to 7pm Wednesday, November 11 at Iles Funeral Homes - Westover Chapel, 6337 Hickman Road, Des Moines. Funeral services will be held 10:30 am Thursday, November 12 at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 3663 66th Street, Urbandale with burial following at Iowa Veterans Cemetery, Van Meter. Bob was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Jim. Bob will be greatly missed by all those who knew him. He was a kind and gentle man with a wonderful sense of humor and a strong love for God and his country. Memorials may be directed to Right to Life. "Click here to view memorial folder" ARRANGEMENTS BY ILES FUNERAL HOMES ~ WESTOVER CHAPEL.