Obituary for Robert B Kooser
Robert “Bob” Kooser passed away Thursday, September 29th at the age of 88. Bob was born September 3rd, 1934, in Summerfield, KS, the son of Robert Eugene and Helen Elizabeth Kooser. He is preceded in death by his parents, Robert & Helen and his son Mark Ryan Kooser.
Robert met the love of his life, Normaglee (Glee) O’Neil at the age of 16 in Beatie, KS and theywere married in January 1954. After experiencing several harsh winters working for the railroad on the plains of Nebraska away from home, he decided it was time to take a calculated business risk by operating the Skyline Truck Stop in Marysville, KS. In October of 1960 he moved to Abilene, KS and ran the Sinclair gas station. After a year he took over the Texaco gas station one block away and one year later he took over the Texaco bulk oil and gas business.
In 1983 Bob and Glee joined into the Amway business with Staton and Jody and built a large organization of friends and enjoyed mentoring many people in their Amway business. They enjoyed traveling to Hawaii and many other fun destinations. In 1995 Bob and Staton formed a business partnership and operated FasTrack Lube Pro’s together for 23 years.
After his wife his second greatest passion was cars. He once traded his car for a house and he didn’t always remember the most important dates but could always remember the car he was driving to coincide with the dates.
He was always looking for ways to entertain his children, such as buying a ski boat for a family that didn’t know how to swim, then he traded the boat for a horse named Linda, then Linda had a foal that no one rode so he traded the horses for a Harley Davidson that he barely rode. Bob was an avid hunter, on one of his later hunting trips, he came back with the largest bird imaginable, a Lincoln Continental.
Family was always the most important thing to Bob. He was always a great example of what a good Catholic Father and Husband should be. Everything he did was for his family and God. He was active in the Knights of Columbus, he attained the Fourth Degree and was a Grand Knight. He was active in church at St. Andrews serving as Lector, Usher, Eucharistic Minister, and a supporter of St. Andrews school. He was also active in the Abilene community through the Chamber of Commerce, serving as a member, and President and enjoyed business ribbon cuttings.
Bob is survived by his wife, Normaglee, three children, Marsha (Joel) Voran, Leawood, KS, Staton (Jody) Kooser, Abilene, KS, Greg Kooser, Brooklyn, NY, and sisters Sharon Durkes, Eskridge, KS, Linda (Bruce) Bond, Paxico, KS. He had 8 grandchildren; Christina Frank, Erica Anderson, Ryan Kooser, Ben Voran, Diane Kooser, Ashley Mitts, Matthew Kooser and Michael Kooser, and 14 great grandchildren and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Mass of Christian Burial for Bob will be 10:00 am Monday, October 3, 2022 at the St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Abilene with Father Peter O’Donnell as Celebrant. A Parish Rosary will be 5:00 pm Sunday evening at the Martin-Becker-Carlson Funeral Home. Bob’s final resting place will be in the Mt. St. Joseph Cemetery north of Abilene. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Bob’s name be made to St. Andrews School or Chapman Valley Manor, and may be left at Martin-Becker-Carlson funeral home in Abilene.
Robert met the love of his life, Normaglee (Glee) O’Neil at the age of 16 in Beatie, KS and theywere married in January 1954. After experiencing several harsh winters working for the railroad on the plains of Nebraska away from home, he decided it was time to take a calculated business risk by operating the Skyline Truck Stop in Marysville, KS. In October of 1960 he moved to Abilene, KS and ran the Sinclair gas station. After a year he took over the Texaco gas station one block away and one year later he took over the Texaco bulk oil and gas business.
In 1983 Bob and Glee joined into the Amway business with Staton and Jody and built a large organization of friends and enjoyed mentoring many people in their Amway business. They enjoyed traveling to Hawaii and many other fun destinations. In 1995 Bob and Staton formed a business partnership and operated FasTrack Lube Pro’s together for 23 years.
After his wife his second greatest passion was cars. He once traded his car for a house and he didn’t always remember the most important dates but could always remember the car he was driving to coincide with the dates.
He was always looking for ways to entertain his children, such as buying a ski boat for a family that didn’t know how to swim, then he traded the boat for a horse named Linda, then Linda had a foal that no one rode so he traded the horses for a Harley Davidson that he barely rode. Bob was an avid hunter, on one of his later hunting trips, he came back with the largest bird imaginable, a Lincoln Continental.
Family was always the most important thing to Bob. He was always a great example of what a good Catholic Father and Husband should be. Everything he did was for his family and God. He was active in the Knights of Columbus, he attained the Fourth Degree and was a Grand Knight. He was active in church at St. Andrews serving as Lector, Usher, Eucharistic Minister, and a supporter of St. Andrews school. He was also active in the Abilene community through the Chamber of Commerce, serving as a member, and President and enjoyed business ribbon cuttings.
Bob is survived by his wife, Normaglee, three children, Marsha (Joel) Voran, Leawood, KS, Staton (Jody) Kooser, Abilene, KS, Greg Kooser, Brooklyn, NY, and sisters Sharon Durkes, Eskridge, KS, Linda (Bruce) Bond, Paxico, KS. He had 8 grandchildren; Christina Frank, Erica Anderson, Ryan Kooser, Ben Voran, Diane Kooser, Ashley Mitts, Matthew Kooser and Michael Kooser, and 14 great grandchildren and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Mass of Christian Burial for Bob will be 10:00 am Monday, October 3, 2022 at the St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Abilene with Father Peter O’Donnell as Celebrant. A Parish Rosary will be 5:00 pm Sunday evening at the Martin-Becker-Carlson Funeral Home. Bob’s final resting place will be in the Mt. St. Joseph Cemetery north of Abilene. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Bob’s name be made to St. Andrews School or Chapman Valley Manor, and may be left at Martin-Becker-Carlson funeral home in Abilene.