Long, Robert H. 'Bob'

Robert H. “Bob” Long, 80, of 908 38th Street S.E., died Monday, Dec. 21, 2009, in Living Center West, Cedar Rapids. Services: 1 p.m., Saturday at Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home & Cremation Service by the Rev. C.W. Perkins. Visitation: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home before the service. Burial: Oak Hill Cemetery.

Survivors include his wife, Freda; children, Edwin Montgomery, Carole Long, and Theresa Long, all of Cedar Rapids, Terrie Long, Sherrie Battles, Robert Long, Jr., and Doris (Albert) Hall, all of Des Moines; 11 grandchildren; and one sister, Sandra Robinson.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Doris May Long; and daughter, Bobbie Jo Long.

Bob was born Feb. 9, 1929, in Des Moines, the son of John and Tressa Smith-Robinson. On May 22, 1965, he was united in marriage to Freda Blakey in Preston, Minn. Bob was a housing inspector with the Department of Planning and Redevelopment for the city of Cedar Rapids, retiring in 1994; a Linn County deputy sheriff; and a barber, during the time he was in Cedar Rapids.

Robert was educated in the Des Moines public schools where he attended Longfellow Elementary School and later graduated from East High School in 1946. He was active in basketball, football and track. Later, he graduated from Iowa Barber College in Des Moines.

At a young age, Robert found the Lord and he attended Kyles African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church where he sang in the Senior Choir and was a Junior Steward at a young age and a member on the Trustee Board. He was a member of Bethel AME Church in Cedar Rapids, where he was a Senior Steward.

He enjoyed golf, the Drake Relays and was an avid Hawkeye fan. Bob had a special bond with his granddaughter, Octavia.

Please sign the online guest book for Bob at under obituaries.