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Robert Crews Joplin passed away January 25, 2014, after a long bout with lung cancer, beating his original diagnosis by over a year. "Papa" or PapaJop, as the family lovingly called him, loved nature, gardening, golf, woodworking, and family.
Robert Crews Joplin, the son of William Andrew Joplin and Virginia Reynolds Joplin, was born in Caruthersville, Missouri, on February 7, 1931. He was the youngest of four children. His older siblings were William A Joplin Jr., Mary Crews Joplin, and Sterling Crews Joplin. As a young Boy Scout, Bob achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and was honored by President Harry Truman who awarded him his Eagle Scout Badge in person while traveling to Caruthersville in 1945.
Bob attended the University of Missouri and graduated in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy. His enthusiasm for his alma mater never waivered. He was a member of the Phi Gama Delta ("Fiji") Fraternity for which his great grandfather T.W.B. Crews was the first Initiate. While in college, Bob was in ROTC and following his graduation proudly served his country in the US Army as a 1st Lieutenant during the Korean War where he was awarded the Bronze Star.
After returning from Korea, Bob accepted a position with Phillips Petroleum Company in marketing and worked his entire career in the fertilizer business, retiring after 32 years as the US Marketing Manager for fertilizer in 1986. His appreciation of Phillips and the esteem with which he held fellow employees was so great that his daughter Ann works for Phillips 66 Company. Bob went on to work for the IRS as a treasury agent in Omaha, Nebraska for ten years.
Bob and Delores Pieper met in St. Louis, Missouri, after his return from the Korean War. They married in 1955 and remained in love and committed to one another.
He is survived by his wife Dee of the home and his two daughters, Ann Joplin Anderson of Bartlesville and Christine Pieper Joplin Parker, of Spring, Texas.
They have four grandchildren Virginia Ann Parker, Jacob Paul Joplin Parker, Elizabeth Joplin Anderson, and Stephen-Andrew Crews Parker. They have loved and cherished their son-in-law David Anderson of Bartlesville, along with his children Jennifer and her husband Craig Cooper and Marianne and her husband Jon Ballard, and their children, Cameron, Olivia, Everette, Sophia and Preston, all of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Bob enjoyed Daybreak Rotary, Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church and was a Master Gardener in Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Memorial donations in Bob's honor may be given to the American Association for Cancer Research; Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity; Nature Conservancy – Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service; Rotary International; Good Shepherd Presbyterian Endowment Fund; Eldercare; or the University of Missouri.
Memorial services will be held on Thursday, January 30, at 2:00 PM, in the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 801 S.E. Washington Blvd., Bartlesville. Rev. Dale Scott will officiate. The family will greet those in attendance following the service.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home. Online condolences may be left at www.honoringmemories.com.
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