Bobby Lee Choate, age 83 of Springfield, Mo., passed away on September 25, 2015. He was born January 17, 1932 in Polk County, Missouri to Clifford and Roma (Conley) Choate.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Clifford and Roma Choate; his wife, Yvonne (Moore) Choate; and two brothers, Cleon and Leon Choate. He is survived by his son, Brian; daughter Caryn and husband Kris Cook; four grandchildren, Clifton and Kim Choate, and Morgan and Tayler Cook; his sister, Linda Kay and husband Brad Moody of Owasso, Oklahoma.
Bob always considered Yvonne’s family his immediate family as well. He was preceded in death by Yvonne’s parents, Guy and Georgia Moore; six of his brothers from her family; and is survived by Helena Clines, Dwight and Ralph Moore, and Angie Bennett.
Bob joined the Army in 1949 and served for a little over three years. For two of those years, he served overseas during the Korean War. Bob was awarded three medals, the Army Occupational Medal, the Korean Service Medal, and a United Nations Service Medal.
Shortly after Bob returned to the U.S., he began dating Yvonne Moore. Soon, he moved to Kansas City, Missouri to work for General Motors. Knowing Yvonne was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, he asked her to marry him and mailed her an engagement ring. Luckily, the ring made it to Springfield, and Yvonne said yes. Bob and Yvonne were united in marriage on January 24, 1953 in Kansas City, Missouri. They were happily married for 58 years until Yvonne’s passing in 2011. Bob and Yvonne had two children, Brian and Caryn.
Bob worked hard to support his family. He definitely impressed on his children the value on being a hard worker. He worked many years at Paul Mueller Company as a welder. He was a supervisor at Paul Mueller and many times his family was told that Bob never asked any of the men working for him to do something he wouldn’t do, and that he worked tirelessly right beside them.
Bob enjoyed helping coach on both his children’s ball teams. Bob was an avid outdoorsman, and enjoyed hunting and golfing. He enjoyed taking his family camping and fishing. He loved working in the garden with Yvonne and his children. In the summer he would make the best homemade ice-cream.
After retiring, he and Yvonne would spend a majority of their time enjoying their grandchildren, gardening, their beloved dog Lucky, and fishing at Stockton Lake with Helena and Gerald.
As you all know, the passing of Yvonne was very hard on Bob and he missed her every day. He has been looking forward to leaving this world for so long. We can take comfort that he is now safe, at peace, and in the presence of God, resting in the arms of his Savior, Jesus Christ. Heaven is a place of supreme joy. Bob is experiencing that joy now that he has been reunited with all of those that he dearly loved.
Bob’s family would like to thank you so much for coming. That means that Bob touched your life in some way. You will all have special, wonderful memories of Bob that you can carry in your hearts for the rest of your lives.
Visitation will be from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Monday, September 28, 2015 at Greenlawn Funeral Home East Springfield, MO. Funeral services will be at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 29, 2015 at the funeral home. Burial will be at Missouri Veterans Cemetery Springfield, MO following the services.