Robert Edwin Koelper

Robert Edwin Koelper, who was born on October 14, 1930, passed away peacefully on November 16, 2024 in Venice, Florida at the age of 94.
Robert was one of ten children brought into this world by Herman Koelper and his wife Matilda Staak and was raised on a farm in Wheeling, Illinois. He attended St John's Lutheran School and later graduated from Northbook High School in 1948. Robert served in the Army during the Korean War and then worked for Illinois Bell/AT&T for 36 years. During that time he met the love of his life Nancy Cooksy, a switchboard operator, in May of 1955 and married her six months later. This December would have been their 69 wedding anniversary.
Bob was one of the biggest Chicago Cubs fans you'd ever want to meet, manually keeping score of every game he watched. He played Senior Softball in Venice until he was 80. He also loved to build things, reinvent things and repurpose things. Bob loved his children, but loved his grandchildren even more.
He is survived by his loving wife Nancy, son David (Karen) Koelper, daughter Barbara Hart (Jim Mullen), grandchildren David Stephen Koelper, Tarah Hart (Patrick Tancey), sister Ruth O'Donnell and many nieces and nephews that fondly called him Uncle Bobby.
A private family interment will be held at Lakeside Lutheran Church Memorial Gardens in early 2025.
Memorial donations can be made to Tidewell Hospice or The American Heart Association.