Hupp, Robert 'Bob' Taylor

Robert “Bob” Taylor Hupp, 74, of Cortez, Fla., passed away from a short illness on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. A Celebration of Life will be held Dec. 22 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Elks Lodge, 801 33rd Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids.

Bob was born Jan. 24, 1937, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the son of Julian and Bee (Taylor) Hupp. He was married to Casey on Jan. 21, 1971, in Cedar Rapids. He attended Coe College in the field of business and the University of Iowa College of Engineering. He worked for one year in the engineering department at Universal Engineering Corp., Cedar Rapids.

In 1958, he started working for his father at Electric Motor Co., which in the 1960s he and his father changed the name to Hupp Electric Motors Inc. In 1971, he purchased the business from his father Julian and became the president and chairman of the board. In 1982, Bob purchased Powerlift, the Toyota forklift dealership for the majority of Iowa and northwest Illinois, doing business as Hupp Toyotalift. Bob retired in 2005 and sold both businesses to his son Kevin Hupp.

Bob was past president of the Eastern Iowa Industrial Distributors Association, Iowa-Nebraska Industrial Distributors Association, Administrative Management Society and Sertoma. He was past director of Central States Industrial Distributors Association, Iowa Retail-Wholesale Association and Midwestern Chapter of the Electrical Apparatus Service Association (EASA). Bob was a board member of the National Kidney Foundation of Iowa for many years.

Bob enjoyed life and every day was looked upon as a gift. He loved spending time with his wife of 40 years, Casey; children and grandchildren; traveling, snowmobiling and boating. In 2005, Bob and Casey fulfilled his dream by piloting their boat 5,700 miles, leaving Cortez and navigating the waterways of both the U.S. and Canada to return to Cortez seven months later, completing what is know as the great loop. He loved boating, because as he always said, he could spend a weekend on the boat and it felt like a week's vacation - no phones, no pressure, no problems.

There was nothing more important to him than the well-being of his family and his extended family, all of his associates at Hupp Electric Motors and Toyotalift.

Bob, was a most generous, caring, loving husband and father; he went through life with a smile and a positive attitude in every situation.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Julian and Bee; and his brothers, William Hupp and David Hupp, all of Cedar Rapids.

He is survived by his wife, Casey Hupp of Cortez, Fla.; his four children, Kevin and Connie Hupp of Ely, Kurt Hupp of Cedar Rapids, Brooke and Mike Jared of Marion and Kerri Collings of Palmento, Fla.; his four grandchildren, Chelsey Horak of Cedar Rapids and Jessica, Joshua and Jennifer Hupp of Ely; his sister-in-law, Connie and Phil Long of Robins, and their child and grandchildren, Tyson and Heather Long, Emma, Tylee, Kamryn of Cedar Rapids.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established for the American Diabetes Association.

Published Nov. 27, 2011, in The Gazette