Robert 'Bob' Lightner

ROBERT EARL LIGHTNER "BOB"

Iowa City

Robert Earl Lightner "Bob," 91, died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017, at the Ozarks Methodist Manor in Marionville, Mo.

He leaves his wife of more than 66 years, Joan Richey Lightner; and his children, Debbie Lightner Nikah (Nick) of Dallas, Texas, Mitch Lightner (Jan) of Bella Vista, Ark., Amy Grau of Austin, Texas, Jeff Lightner (Rhiza) of Overland Park, Kan., and Brook Lightner (Janet) of Cedar Rapids; 12 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Bob was born in Muscatine County, Iowa, on May 18, 1925, to Robert A. and Clara Lightner. He was their only son. He had three sisters, Wanda Eastman (now of Waterloo), who introduced him to his future wife, Maxine Meis (Sioux City) and Audrey Bothell (Iowa City), who preceded him in death.

His early years were spent as a farm boy, where the old rooster loved the red tassel of his hat and chased him relentlessly. Bob's lifelong passion of photography began in high school. After graduating from school in Iowa City, he attended the Ray School of Photography in Chicago and specialized in cinematography.

He was a World War II veteran, drafted in 1944 and served in Company "B" 1255th Engineer Combat Battalion. He forged bonds with other brave men and served honorably. Later he participated in the Ozark Honors Flights to the World War II Memorial where he met Bob Dole and other veterans.

He took great pride in what he called "his wonderful jobs." He was a cinematographer for the University of Iowa and filmed the football team through the Rose Bowl years in the late 1950s. Then, he traveled the U.S and Canada documenting space exploration for Collins Radio (Rockwell Collins) in Cedar Rapids. Later, he and Joan owned KIS 1-Hour Photo.

After retirement, he and Joan moved to Bella Vista, where he worked at the Mildred Cooper Chapel and created items of woodworking which sold at the Wishing Springs Gallery and its annual art and craft fair.

He loved his family and was always open to providing his valuable wisdom and advice to others. Bob had a love of looking at the world through a lens and capturing its beauty. He had a childlike curiosity that lasted until he could no longer hold a camera. Having lived through the Depression and World War II, he wanted his children to have fewer hardships and more opportunity. He leaves a legacy of honesty, hard work, and the embodied lesson that "anything worth doing is worth doing right."