Bobbi Alpers (1951-2020)

ALPERS, ULLRICH

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 12/26/2020 at 09:29:56

Bobbi Alpers, a jurist who became the first female Chief Judge of a Judicial District in Iowa state history died Thursday, December 24, 2020 of complications of Alzheimer's at her home in rural Jackson County.

Due to Covid-19 concerns there will be neither a visitation nor memorial service. A private burial will take place and in 2021 a celebration of Bobbi's time on earth will be announced.

Bobbi's family would like to acknowledge the extraordinary assistance and loving care offered by Hospice of Jackson County in her final days.

Born September 10, 1951 in Vinton, Iowa to Harold & Dorothy Alpers. Even as a child she exhibited a nurturing nature and extraordinary leadership skills, playing the role of schoolteacher to a classroom of two, her younger sister and brother.

Bobbi became expert at adapting to a continually shifting landscape, as her father transferred often for his job. Consequently she attended schools in Vinton, Manchester, Fort Dodge, Cresco and, finally, Maquoketa where she graduated with the Class of 1970.

Four years later she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Dubuque with a double major in English & French with a minor in history. In 2013 she was named an Alumna of Distinction at the university.

Bobbi taught middle school English in Forest City for a year before returning to school at the University of Iowa where she earned a Master's Degree in English. She was offered a position as a high school English teacher in the Pleasant Valley School District, where she stayed until 1980, when a new career beckoned.

In 1983 she graduated from the University of Iowa Law School, and was immediately offered a position as a judicial law clerk in the 7th Judicial District in Davenport, Iowa.

Eventually she worked as an Assistant County Attorney, before opening her own practice. She was chosen to be a Judicial Magistrate in Scott County and in 1990 was chosen by the governor to be a District Court Judge. At the time she was the only female judge in the five-county 7th Judicial District.

In 2007 the Iowa Supreme Court chose her to be the Chief Judge of the District, the first female to become a Chief Judge of a district in the century-and-a-half of Iowa's legal system. She was a terrific, empathetic, compassionate judge and was unsurpassed as a kind, thoughtful human being. Clark Kauffman of the Iowa Capital Dispatch wrote: "No matter where I saw her - at the courthouse or elsewhere - Bobbi was always the most engaged, energetic and smartest person in the room."

She married Kurt Ullrich in 1983.

She is survived by her sister Peggy of Oak Lawn, IL, and brother Mikel of Wood Dale, IL. Additional survivors include a niece and two nephews.
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