Robert Richard Herpel, affectionately referred to as Bob by his friends, Bobby by his family in Michigan, Dad by his Children, and Grandpa (also "Cowboy Grandpa"), by his Grandchildren, and Great-grandchildren, graduated from his mortal experience, during his 90th year, on August 14, 2026.

Bob was the 10th and final child born to Erma Mae (Carpenter), and William Charles Herpel in East Detroit on January 10th, 1936.

In the early 1940s, his family moved from East Detroit to a log cabin near a small stream, in the pine forests of Northern Michigan, within the tiny town of Luzerne. Although he learned to love hunting and fishing from his new home, Dad was no stranger to hard work at a young age. He and his father (eventually by himself), would cut an incredible amount of wood each year to sustain the families heating and cooking needs through the long, cold, and snowy Michigan winters. He graduated from Mio High School in 1953 at 17, and then through the arrangement of his father, consented to join the US Navy in 1953.

Dads world became very large during his 4 years in the Navy at the tail end of the Korean War, with ports-of-call throughout the South Pacific. He was even fortunate enough to attend some of the Olympic Games in 1956, held at Melbourne Australia.

Near the end of his enlistment, he met and became smitten with June Marion Stewart while he and a buddy were enjoying a swim at the Long Beach Pike amusement park. They met and dated several more times, and he made himself very familiar with Junes family in Bell, California prior to his departure for his final "Cruise" with the Navy.

Upon his Honorable Discharge June and Bob wasted little time getting married, a marriage which spanned over six decades. They lived with family in Luzerne MI, and Bell CA. They bought their first home in Artesia, California, and have had homes since then in Corona CA, Washington UT (4 different homes), St George UT, Hurricane UT, and Pine Valley Utah which they called home for nearly 30 years.

Bob loved living in Pine Valley. He and June had many friends in the Pine Valley Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Not sure, but we think he "called" himself to be one of the Official Greeters each Sunday morning at the foot of the steps of the historic Pine Valley Chapel, a calling he cherished for many years.

Bob has had many different occupations, but is best known in Southern Utah for his Real Estate Brokerage, Utah Heritage Realty (with offices in both St George and Pine Valley Main Street), and Utah Heritage Appraisal Services.

To his last days the work experience he was most proud of was his years in the Aerospace industry of the 1960s and early 70s working at Autonetics, a division of North American Aviation. He and his team performed Quality Assurance on the Astronaut accessible Instrumentation within the Apollo Command Module. He had the good fortune to be on a first name basis with many of NASAs early Astronauts, especially Wally Schirra (Mercury/Apollo Astronaut) who considered Bob as his friend.

Bob didn’t know many strangers. His friendly and open personality endeared him to many people, including countless children who adored him for his generosity with treats at the ready. A practice that’s disappeared in our current day, but remembered by many, now in their 40s and 50s, fortunate enough to meet Bob.

Bob is survived by Richard Craig (Jodie), Mark Stewart (KaLynn), James Matthew, and Elizabeth Ann Brush (Brandon). Bob and June treasured time spent with their children and their spouses, 16 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

Bob is preceded by his wife June, his Grand Daughters Mindi Jo Herpel, and Rachael Nicole Herpel (Miller). Additionally, his beloved Mother and Father, his Brothers Herman, Harold, Bill, and Mike, and his Sisters Dorothy, Helen, Miriam, and Lucile, are also all now very happy to be with him again.

Funeral Services will be held August 29th, 2026 at the Central Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 850 E Center St, Central, UT at 11:00 am, and a viewing will be held prior to the service at 10:00 am. Interment will take place at the Pine Valley Cemetery following the services.

The family of Bob and June Herpel are forever grateful to the wonderful, skilled, talented and all-around amazing staff at the Ivins Utah Veterans Administration Assisted Living facility who truly made a supposed difficult transition from Bobs home in Pine Valley nearly seamless.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to support the mission of the Veterans Administration Assisted Living Facility located in Ivins, Utah.

Arrangements are made under the direction of Spilsbury Mortuary, 110 S Bluff St, St. George, Utah (435) 673-2454.

Friends and family are invited to sign Bob's online guest book at www.spilsburymortuary.com