Larry William Trepp (1933-1998)

ALBERS, OATES, TREPP

Posted By: Eileen Reed
Date: 2/10/2024 at 13:07:00

October 29, 1933 --- October 18, 1998

LARRY TREPP
Ames

Larry W. Trepp, 64, of Ames died of a heart attack Sunday at his home. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. today at First Evangelical Free Church in Ames, of which he was a member. Burial will be at Reinbeck Cemetery in Reinbeck.

Mr. Trepp was born in Fort Dodge and had lived in Ames since 1988. He was a former teacher in the Wapsie Valley and Waverly Shell-Rock school districts and also spent several years as a banker in Waverly and Eagle Grove. He currently worked for Gentry Management in Ames and was a bus driver for the Ames school district. He had been a member of Izaak Walton League in Waverly, Lions Club and Cyclone Club in Ames. He also taught Sunday school and served as church council president.

He is survived by his wife, Jan; two sons, Marty of Urbandale and Dan of Webster City; two daughters, Becca Albers of Eagle Grove and Laura Oates of Tinley Park, Ill.; a brother, Lowell of Ames; and seven grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to his church or the Iowa Heart Association. Adams Funeral Home in Ames is handling arrangements.

The Des Moines Register --- Des Moines, Iowa
October 20, 1998

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REINBECK – Larry W. Trepp, 64, of Ames, formerly of Reinbeck, died Sunday, Oct. 18, at home of a heart attack; survivors include his wife, Jan; two sons, Marty of Urbandale and Dan of Webster City; two daughters, Becca Albers of Eagle Grove and Laura Oates of Tinley Park, III.; seven grandchildren; and a brother, Lowell; he was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Dorann; services were 10:30 a.m. today at First Evangelical Free Church, Ames, with burial in Reinbeck Cemetery, Reinbeck; Mr. Trepp was a 1959 graduate of Iowa State University and also graduated from the School of Banking, Madison, Wis.; he taught agricultural education at Wapsie Valley of Fairbank and Waverly-Shell Rock School District for nine years, and for 18 years was a banker in Waverly and Eagle Grove; he was manager for Gentry Management, Ames, and also drove a bus for the Ames Community School District.

The Courier --- Waterloo, Iowa
October 20, 1998

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EG remembers Larry Trepp and bids him a final farewell

Larry Trepp, who lived in Eagle Grove from 1973-1987, suddenly died at his home on Sunday, October 18, at the age of 64. Trepp worked at Security Bank during his years in Eagle Grove. Friends and family will remember Trepp fondly. His daughter, Becca Albers, lives in Eagle Grove with her husband, John, and kids, Laura and Andrew.

Trepp's past few years have been spent managing a 120 unit apartment complex and driving a school bus in Ames. He began driving the bus in 1990, and enjoyed every minute of it. His students enjoyed their bus driver too. The Ames Tribune featured an article on Trepp, his students and fellow bus drivers. He was respected so much that as the funeral party left for the cemetery, he was escorted by ten buses.

John Neibergall wrote the following memorial tribute to Trepp:

"If school bus drivers were honored the same way great athletes are honored, they'd be retiring a school bus in Ames to honor Larry Trepp.

"And if you were to ask the children of Crawford and Edwards Elementary Schools (in Ames) who rode the bus, you would understand that Larry became a hall-of-famer a long while back in their books.

"The Ames Tribune captured it in a headline that offered a first-grader's perspective on the bus ride home: The ride with Larry was "good to the last stop."

"Although the young passengers often addressed him as "Bus Driver," the kids knew Larry's name. And:

* they knew he cared that they had had a good breakfast -- because Larry thought to ask.

* they knew the bus driver cared about their big days at school.

* they knew he cared to listen to their plights with bigger kids, and brothers and sisters.

* they knew Larry would have a smile for them when he picked them up and dropped them off; his good nature was one of the certainties of the trip to school.

* the kids knew Larry would see them safely on and off the bus.

* they knew he'd be watching as they'd wave until the bus was out of sight.

* on Larry's route. "Bus driver” was a term of endearment.

"Driving a school bus wasn't a chore or a job; it was a calling, an opportunity to serve. It was in a real sense of ministry. He expressed that in the Oath of a Professional School Bus Driver, which he wrote in 1997 when morale seemed low among his fellow bus drivers," Neibergall continued.

The story in the Tribune reported that Larry's bus was decorated with "a few mementos from home"; a stuffed dog hanging over the rear view mirror and a collage of his grandchildren dubbed ‘Trepp's Troop' taped near the door. You have another glimpse of what held central importance in Larry's life, his family: wife Jan, the kids, Marty, Dan, Rebecca and Laura, and the grandchildren -- always a source of deep pride and great joy.

"Larry was on the road a lot -- not just in a big yellow bus, but in the car with Jan to hurry to a grandchild's t-ball game, or dance recital or birthday party. Larry and Jan put family first. The results are these neat young families whose lives and relationships speak volumes about the importance of parenting, love, values and faith lived and modeled.

"That's only a snapshot of my friend, Larry. But it's a pretty good snapshot, as pictures go, because it captures so much of his nature.

"When my wife, Karen, and I moved to Eagle Grove to run the newspaper, Larry was a banker, not bus driver. Still, the job description that Larry scripted for his work wasn't so different. He was an always friendly listener and a comfortable adviser in his office -- the calm in any storm. A talk with Larry was an opportunity to draw from his quiet confidence and to chuckle with his gentle kidding. Other friends know that Larry could tease children -- and grown up children -- and delight them with his humor. He teased without guile.

"Larry seemed to have an ability to choose where he would engage life, and having chosen, he engaged himself fully.

"Whether selling light bulbs for the Lions Club; or helping the Paddlewheel Players prepare for a community theater production; whether teaching or banking or getting apartments ready for new tenants (new members of Jan and Larry's ever-changing, extended family); or cheering the Cyclones, Larry always did more than asked or expected -- never to call attention to himself.

"As apartment managers Larry and Jan have served their tenants as surrogate father and mother; counselor, security guard, encourager; chiefs of maintenance and chief fan and friend.

"Larry's passion for the Cyclones was unwavering. Win-loss columns had no bearing on his enthusiasm for Iowa State. It was a constant in his life, rooted in days that shaped lifetime friendships, a lifetime marriage and a lifetime of experiences that couples simply acquired in starting their married life in Pammel Court married student housing.

"We have our special memories, of Larry. Yet the most special memory of all is the one that causes this sad time to be a time of celebration. That most special memory is our witness of Larry's deepening personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

"His family will attest to this: that through the ministry of the Promise Keepers and the fellowship with other believers, and through his family's prayers and love, Larry became increasingly engaged -- not in religion but in relationship to the living God, and he came to understand and abide in the reality of Jesus' atoning death on the cross for him.

“There is so much more that each of us remembers and gives thanks for as we think of Larry. He delighted in people and would delight in the company of friends and family, though not in so many words spoken about him.”

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Trepp remembered as great friend

Larry Trepp may be gone, but he will never be forgotten. He lived in Eagle Grove for about 12 years and developed many life-long friends.

Eagle Grove Eagle --- Eagle Grove, Iowa
November 11,1998

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[Transcriber’s Note: Obituaries transcribed as published. The deceased’s birth name was Larry William Trepp per his U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index.]