Rev. Robert "Bob" Allen Conklin

Rev. Robert “Bob” Allen Conklin, age 92, of Winnebago, died Friday, March 28, 2014, at St. Lukes in Blue Earth. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, April 1, 2014, at 2:00 PM, at the First Presbyterian Church in Winnebago, with Rev. Michael Roys, and Rev. Clint Patterson officiating. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery, Winnebago. Visitation time will be from 4:00pm-6:00pm Monday March 31, 2014, at Spencer-Owen Funeral Home, 345 6th Ave SE in Winnebago and one hour before the service at the church. Web tributes may be left at www.spencerowen.com He was born June 10, 1921, at Mina, SD, the son of George and Ruth (Craven) Conklin. Bob grew up in Mina, until the depression closed the bank where his father worked, sending the family to Algona (via Sioux City). It was there that he graduated from High School in 1939, while enjoying football, wrestling, hunting, and fishing. Following high school he attended electronic school in Chicago, learning to do electrical and communications work. He worked for Alcoa and John Deere… and due to his talent for grinding radio crystals, worked during WW II at Pearl Harbor in support of the war effort. His daughter Virginia was born to his first marriage. He returned to college at Dubuque in 1954. He and Mary were married there in 1955: their children Tom, Steve, Joe and Dianne joined the family in the years following. After entering and graduating from seminary, Bob served churches in Belfield, ND; Walhalla, ND; Phillipsburg, KS; Winnebago, MN; Cambria, MN; and after retirement… in Alma, AR, and Bass Lake northeast of Winnebago. When not engaged in ministry, Bob enjoyed woodworking and loved to travel. He is survived by his spouse, Mary Conklin of Winnebago, daughter, Virginia Conklin of Elk Horn, IA, son, Thomas (Lori Rogers) Conklin of Glendale, AZ, son, Steve (Kirsten) Conklin of Zimmerman, MN, daughter, Dianna Shanowat of Winnebago, son, Joseph Conklin of Winnebago, 6 grandchildren, Jacob Conklin, Timothy and Elizabeth Schmelzer, Hugh Alexander, Shay and Seth Conklin, and 1 great-grandson Orion Bernal. He was preceded in death by his parents, and brother Merle Conklin.