David Loepp, 85

Wednesday, August 22, 2007
David Loepp.

David Loepp, 85, of Boise, formerly of Mountain Home, died Aug. 17, 2007, surrounded by his children.

Friends and family will be greeted at a viewing today, Wednesday, Aug.22 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel. Funeral services will be held Thursday, Aug. 23, at 11:30 a.m. at Collister Community Church, 4709 W. State Street, Boise, with Pastor Corbett Lynn officiating. A graveside service with military honors will follow at Dry Creek Cemetery.

Loepp was born Nov. 29, 1921, in a farmhouse southwest of Inman, Kan., to Jacob and Marie Toews Loepp, the fourth of 11 children. He excelled in classes through 7th grade at Welcome School and 8th grade at West Eagle School, both one-room schools. He graduated from Buhler High School in 1939 then worked in accounting at Hollowell Drilling Co., attending evening classes at Adela Hale Secretarial School in Hutchinson. He possessed a natural mechanical ability, repairing equipment on the farm when he was growing up.

From 1942 to 1946 he served in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of technical sergeant and receiving the Good Conduct Medal. He played on Army baseball and basketball teams. He attended the University of Mississippi for Advanced Army Administration. While serving in Detroit, he and his buddies attended the 1945 World Series.

Following his service in the military he returned to Kansas ,working for Citizens State Bank in McPherson.

He was a member of the McPherson American Legion basketball team, winning the national championship in 1949. Their trophy stands in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

In 1951, he left Kansas for a job as an auditor at the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco, Calif., stopping to visit friends in Mountain Home. There he met and fell in love with Bertha Claunch Jakomeit, whom he married on Aug. 1, 1952. Staying in Mountain Home, he ran a Texaco service station then worked at a General Motors dealership for many years.

Family activities included fishing, boating and the greatly anticipated Saturday night outings to Meridian Speedway. He enjoyed league bowling, refereeing basketball games and teaching the kids to water ski.

In 1968 he purchased Mountain View Phillips 66 Service Station, moving the family to Boise. "His customers knew him as an honorable, trustworthy man," his family said, adding that "Dad endlessly supported our many school activities." He retired in1985.

"Faithfully and unconditionally, dad cared for mom during a lengthy illness," his children said. After she died in 2001 he sold the family home, moving to Samaritan Village Apartments "where many friendships were built."

"As a Christian, Dad cherished worshipping at Collister Community Church with his extended church family, especially Pastor Corbett Lynn and close friend, Joe Leonard."

He is survived by: his six children: M. Frank Jakomeit (Memélia) of Orlando, Fla., and Connie Jo Robertson (Tom), Karen Orsborn (Jerry), Ellen Bright (George), Elsie Boyd Severn (Chuck), and Gary Loepp (Katie) all of the Boise area; 16 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; sisters Marie Draemel of Salina, Kan.,, Esther Willems of Hutchinson, Kan., Ann Plett of Houston, Texas, Leona Koslowsky of Hillsboro, Kan., Helen Faul of Golden Valley, Minn., Velma Schroeder of Inman, Kan.; brothers Rueben Loepp of Hutchinson, Kan., Menno Loepp of Inman, Kan.; numerous relatives and a special friend, Helen Huffer.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Bertha Loepp, his brother, Henry Loepp, his sister, Martha White, and two great-grandchildren.

Donations to Collister Community Church Building Fund, 4709 W. State Street, Boise, ID 83703 are requested in his memory.