Robert E. Peppers

LAKELAND " Robert Eugene Peppers, 89, passed away Monday, December 29, 2014 from natural causes. Bob was born August 12, 1925 in Farmer City, IL, and grew up in Belleville. Upon graduation from high school in 1943, he enlisted in the Army as a flying cadet. He served in the USAAF during WWII as a navigator in A-26s and B-17s in Europe and North Africa. After the war, he attended the University of Missouri at Rolla, earning a Bachelor of Metallurgical Engineering. Bob joined St. Joe Lead Co. in 1954 as an engineer in the lead smelter in Herculaneum, MO, eventually becoming Manager of the Lead Smelter and Vice President of Doe Run, Inc., which had acquired the plant. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Peggy; children Donald of Sea Island, GA, Gary of Cape Coral, FL, Steven of Fredericksburg, VA, Cheryl of Sarasota, FL, and Jeffrey of St. Augustine, FL; brothers Richard of Palm Coast, FL, and Russell of Champaign, IL; sister Winifred of Belleville, IL; eleven grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Memorial service will be Friday, January 2, 11 am, at The Estates at Carpenters, 1001 Carpenters Way in Lakeland. Interment service with military honors will be at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell Friday at 2:30 P.M. Service: 01/02/2015 The Estates at Carpenters