Huffman, Robert M. 1931-2008

HUFFMAN, HARRISON, STOWELL, HAWKINS, OTTE, MARTIN, FILBY

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 2/9/2012 at 09:11:55

The Grinnell (IA) Herald-Register; July 14, 2008

ROBERT M. HUFFMAN

Robert Merle Huffman, 76, of Kahoka, Mo., formerly of Grinnell, died Wednesday, July 9, 2008, at his home.

A funeral service was held Saturday, July 12, at First Baptist Church in Kahoka with the Revs. Dan Deatrick and Michael Atherton officiating. Burial with military rites followed at Evergreen Cemetery, Fairfield, Iowa.

He was born Nov. 8, 1931, near Libertyville in Jefferson County, Iowa, the eldest child of Hollis Hiram and Jessie Ila Harrison Huffman. He grew up and was educated in Packwood, Iowa, after which he entered the United States Army in 1952 in Fairfield, Iowa. He was stationed in Germany during the Korean War and discharged at Fort Sheridan, Ill., in 1954. He was united in marriage with Carolyn Ann Stowell on Dec. 10, 1955, in Fairfield.

He began working for Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company in Grinnell on Oct. 15, 1955. He attended CPCU classes at Drake University in Des Moines and continued working for Grinnell Mutual in all areas of reinsurance until Feb. 1, 1971, when he and his wife purchased the Bricker Insurance Agency in Kahoka, Mo. He later became secretary-treasurer-manager of Clark Mutual Insurance Company, retiring in 2002 and selling the agency to his son John.

He was a former president of the Kahoka Chamber of Commerce and involved in many community and insurance organizations.

He is survived by his wife Carolyn and his son John of Kahoka; two daughters Cheryl Hawkins of Glendale, Ariz., and Debra Otte of Kahoka; two sisters Phyllis Martin of Toledo, Iowa, and Judy Filby of Johnston, Iowa; eight grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother Glen Huffman.