Robert Coggins Sr.

ROBERT COGGINS SR.

Hopkinton

Robert Newton Coggins Sr., 84, left this world May 5, 2015. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 23, at St. John's Lutheran Church, Hopkinton. There will be a visitation with family present from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, with a prayer service at 7 p.m., at the church. Burial will be at the Hopkinton Cemetery.

Bob was born May 24, 1930, in Spartanburg, S.C. After graduating from Spartanburg High School, he attended Berea College in Berea, Ky., where he received his bachelor of science degree in agriculture in 1952. While studying, he worked in the school dairy. He came to Iowa in 1952 where he was employed in the Mental Health Institute Dairy in Independence. He met his future wife, Jacquelyn Kleineck, who was a nurse there. They were married on June 5, 1953, at Zion Lutheran Church in Wyoming, Iowa. They farmed near Guttenberg, Wyoming and Monticello, before they bought a farm near Hopkinton in 1971. Along with farming, Bob ran a construction business from the late 1970s until retiring in the mid-'90s. He worked seasonally for Crop Production Services. Bob was a member of St. John's Lutheran Church, Hopkinton,

for 35 years where he also served on the church council. He also served as a 4-H leader in Jones County.

Bob is survived by his wife; two sons, Robert Jr. (Vicky Hinz) of Monticello and Paul (Dawn) Coggins of Beresford, S.D.; a daughter, the Rev. Brenda Frelsi of Casper, Wyo.; four granddaughters, Alicia (Eric) Boe, Elizabeth (Tyler) Eikelberger, Sarah Frelsi and Stephanie (Nick) Rebnord; one grandson, Corey (Reina); and a great-granddaughter, Ruby. He is also survived by two sisters, Lena Whitlaw of Jackson, S.C., and Helen Higgins of Cumming, Ga.

He was preceded in death by his parents, the Rev. Lawrence and Mary Brown Coggins.

Bob loved farming, his Angus cattle, his dogs, John Deere tractors and the fellows at Crop Production Services. He also loved fishing and woodworking.