Robert Daniel Wallenmeyer

Robert Daniel Wallenmeyer, 95, of California, Mo., passed away Friday, March 24, 2017, after a brief illness and a deep sadness after losing his last remaining sibling, Ruby, in January. He was born on August 3, 1921, on a farm between Jamestown and Prairie Home, Mo. He was the second child of Otto William & Louise Annette (Kaempfer) Wallenmeyer, who preceded him in death. He attended Carlos School, finishing the eighth grade, where he made high marks. Like many of that generation, he left school to work the family farm. That was something he regretted, even into his senior years. He knew the value of a good education, and encouraged his children to apply themselves in school. At some point prior to the war, he left to work the wheat harvest in Kansas, saving enough to buy his first old clunker. He was drafted and entered into the US Army on November 12, 1942. He said he was passed-over for the draft the first round because he was born blind in his right eye, which his children did not know growing up for he hid it well, but took him on a subsequent round and assigned him to the artillery. You can read his military history, in his own words, here: https://www.wwiimemorial.com/Registry/plaque.aspx?honoreeID=2063948. He was a farmer his whole life until retirement, though he supplemented his income through a variety of occupations. He worked at the Woolen Mill in California, Schwab Oil Company, a number of road and building construction jobs, and finally Von Hoffman Press, from where he retired. He was a member of Salem Baptist Church, The American Legion, VFW and The Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is survived by: his children, Debbie (Steve) Gonzales of Lake Ozark, Mo., and their children, Melissa and Tony, Bill (Mary) Wallenmeyer of Shermans Dale, Pa., and their two sons, Otto and Yanni, and Roberta (Dave) Rothstein of California, Mo., and her children, Eric and Stephanie. Plus four great-grandchildren. He was proceeded in death by: his parents, sisters, Ruby Ziehmer, Mildred Cain and Bessie Sutton, brother, Rev. Lee Wallenmeyer, daughters Ruth Ann Wallenmeyer and Brenda (Wallenmeyer) Williams, and grandson, Adam Wallenmeyer. A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m., Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at Phillips Funeral Home, California, Mo., with Rev. Roy Barnard officiating. Burial following in Moniteau Advent Evangelical Cemetery, California. In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to the Moniteau Evangelical Advent Cemetery fund or Salem Baptist Church Cemetery Fund.