Robert Burns Poppen, age 93, a retired farmer and lifelong resident of Cheyenne County passed away on Saturday, December 18, 2021 in Kimball, NE. Memorial services will be announced when available. Cremation has been held.
You may view Bob’s Book of Memories, leave condolences, photos and stories at www.gehrigstittchapel.com.
Gehrig-Stitt Chapel & Cremation Service, LLC is in charge of Bob’s care and funeral arrangements.
Bob will be remembered for his energetic commitment to agriculture and for his generous devotion to his family and community. He was 93 years old and had been in the nursing care of Kimball County Manor for six weeks.
Bob was born on Aug. 1, 1928, as the first child of Alice May (Harbaugh) Poppen and John Albert Poppen. The family owned a substantial farm northeast of Gurley, where Bob’s grandparents had homesteaded in the 1880s after immigrating from Germany. Young Robert Poppen graduated from Gurley High School in 1946 and followed his grandfather and father into farming. Over the decades, he invested in land and significantly increased acreage and production. Bob was also a cattle feeder and some years kept as many as 500 calves in the corrals and pastures of Plainview Farm.
In 1953, Bob married Anita Jay of Minatare, Nebr. Two sons were born before their divorce in 1964. In 1975, Bob married Lynn Raddatz, who had grown up on a family farm near Peetz, Colo., and was at that time teaching in a high school in Thornton, CO.
Bob was committed to land conservation and wise use of resources. He persuaded his father to build terraces on homestead land to reduce erosion and followed that practice on a greater scale on his own ground. Bob and Lynn Poppen were recognized in 1992 by the University of Nebraska and the Omaha World-Herald as master conservationists. Their farm is presently operated on a no-till basis.
Bob served on the board of the South Platte Natural Resources District for 20 years and on the board of the Federal Land Bank Association of Scottsbluff for nearly a decade. He was active in the Lions Club of Gurley for many years. He was a member of the Sidney Elks Lodge.
Bob and Lynn moved to a new home in Sidney in 1995. Bob semi-retired in 2003, selling most of his farm machinery but keeping his combine and trucks. Bob harvested his wheat crop up to his 80th year, many years with his sons’ help.
Bob was an avid reader in areas such as agriculture, investing, Western history and Old West fiction. He and Lynn enjoyed traveling.
Bob and Lynn made generous contributions to scholarships at many schools and colleges, including Leyton and WNCC.
Bob is survived by his wife, Lynn, two sons Gregg Poppen (Roxanne Abajian) of Ketchikan, AK, and Eric Poppen of Los Angeles; one sister Ellagene Mayfield of Santa Clara, CA; one nephew Bruce Mayfield of Eagle Nest, N.M.,
two grandsons Beau Poppen of Providence, R.I.; and Gabriel Abajian (Deborah); one great-granddaughter Delainey of Mesa, AZ. one sister-in-law Jane Walker (Ron) of Denver and one brother-in-law Bruce Raddatz (Sandra) of Holdrege, along with nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his older brother Randall, who died in infancy, and his sister Naomi Poppen Bruntz.
Donations in Robert Burns Poppen’s honor may be made to nonprofits he supported, such as the WNCC scholarship foundation; World Vision; or Habitat for Humanity.