Robert Runnels' Obituary
Robert M. Runnels died on November 2, 2008. Memorial Services will be 10:30am, Friday, November 7, 2008 at the First United Methodist Church. Visitation will be Thursday from 4:00-7:00pm at the Clinton Chapel Snell-Zornig Funeral Home and Crematory. A Rose Croix Masonic Service will conclude the visitation at 7:00pm. Bob was born April 17, 1921, in Pickering, Missouri, the fourth child of Maysel Hanna Runnels and Walter Runnels. He attended Pickering schools, and was valedictorian of his 1938 graduating class of 17. He attended Northwest Missouri State Teachers College on a four-year scholarship, and received his B.A. in 1942 with a major in industrial arts and a minor in math. He did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin, and received a M.A. in math and education from the University of Iowa in 1964. Bob was drafted into the Army in 1942. He was stationed at Camp Roberts in California, and sent to ASTP school at Stanford University. He served in the 14th Artillery Corps, 756th Battalion, in the Pacific Front as a sergeant and was in the invasion of Luzon. His LST was torpedoed, and he spent time in Army hospitals, having suffered a severe hearing loss. He was visited by Helen Keller, entertained by Irving Berlin, and saw the traveling production of Oklahoma three times. He was discharged in 1945. Following his discharge, he came to Clinton, Iowa, and taught at Washington Junior High School for thirty-seven years. He taught industrial arts, physical education, and also coached junior high sports, but the majority of his teaching career was as an eighth-grade math teacher. He married Lois Custis in 1947. They have two daughters, Dee Runnels of Moline, Illinois, and Amy Anderson, of Solon, Iowa. Amy and her husband Bruce have three children, Kate, Joe, and Jake. Bob belonged to the Western Star Masonic Lodge, Clinton Scottish Rite Bodies, KAABA Shrine, Clinton Hi 12 Club, Kiwanis, and the American Legion. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church. Bob is survived by his wife and family. Memorials are requested in lieu of flowers, and may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Clinton, The USS LST Ship Memorial, Inc. (840 LST Drive, Evansville, Indiana), or to the charity of your choice.
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