Robert Bimradge Wethington
Robert Bimradge Wethington
Tipton
Robert Bimradge Wethington was born Oct. 23, 1929, in Red Oak township west of Tipton, Iowa, to Harry and Ollie (Clements) Wethington. The local doctor traversed a thin dusting of snow on horseback to assist with Robert’s (Bob’s) delivery on the family farm. His birth was a harbinger of his future, as Bob operated and lived on his own farm farther west of Tipton, before he and his wife, Evelyn (Ev), moved to a new home they had built in town in 2010.
Bob graduated Tipton High School in 1947 and then continued to work on his parent’s farm (and a neighbor’s), while holding various other jobs, including working one winter at Cedar County Produce, the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift at Honeymead Feeds, at Shima’s Feed and Poultry, and at Mill’s Shell Station, before he married Ev and then farmed with his in-laws, Clarence, Flossie and John Miller until eventually running his own farm independently with Ev until retirement.
Bob married Evelyn L. Miller, Feb. 1, 1951, in St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Tipton; they met dancing at Hi-Way Gardens in Stanwood. Many decades of dancing followed, as did four children, Jeneane (b. 1955), Michael (b./d. 1953), September (b. 1961/d. 2022) and Larry (b. 1963), and grandchildren Amanda, Nicole, Emma, Connor and Libbie.
Bob served his country January 1952 to October 1953 as fire direction sergeant first class for heavy mortar in the Korean War. With his brother-in-law John still in Korea, Bob found himself picking corn with Clarence the day after he returned home. Hard work and a dogged determination were omnipresent, as were his quick-witted jokes and ease with strangers.
Bob was a member of the Mechanicsville American Legion for over 60 years and a lifetime member of the Tipton VFW. He was very active in the Tipton Moose Lodge, St. Mary’s Mechanicsville and St. Mary’s Tipton.
He took great pride in farming and finished second in a statewide soybean yield competition in the 1970s. In addition to farming, Bob was a bank director for 25 years at Tipton State Bank (now US Bank); sold Americana Seeds for 10 years, taking advantage of the fantastic trips that came with the job; and was a Cedar County Cattlemen’s Association member, its VP for 1 year. An avid golfer, he was a past president of the Tipton Golf and Country Club. He loved shooting pool, earning several tournament trophies. An excellent sportsman himself, he also loved watching the Hawkeyes and was a Cubbies fan.
Bob had a great love for his family, both the one he created with Evelyn, and the one he was born into with older siblings, Lucille, Bessie, Aleen and Russell, all of whom preceded him in death.
Services for Bob are as follows: visitation at Fry Funeral Home on Tuesday, June 27, from 4 to 7 p.m.; funeral at St. Mary Catholic Church, Tipton, on Wednesday, June 28, at 10 a.m.; followed by a luncheon at St. Mary’s Hall at 11 a.m.; and graveside services with military honors at noon, at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery.