Marvin O. Kober passed away peacefully on May 5th, 2020 in the home of his daughter.  He was 73 years old. 

Marv was raised on a farm near Pacific, Missouri, where he grew up fishing on the Meramec River and developing the character traits one only tends to establish from being raised on a farm.  After earning a state award for woodworking in high school, he went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology from Southwest Missouri State College.  Woodworking was a lifelong passion, and he proudly retained all of his fingers!

He had a lifelong call to contribute to his community; he served in the Army National Guard, and as a volunteer officer in the Kansas City Police Department for over a decade.  He was an active member of Woods Chapel United Methodist Church of Lee’s Summit, Missouri.  Marvin was one of the most requested and beloved substitute teachers in the Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs, Missouri school districts, where teachers always knew their classes were in good hands.  He is well known to many as the man who visited their 3rd grade class, dressed in handmade buckskin clothing, complete with deer antler buttons and delicate beadwork, while sharing the history of Native Americans, and early explorers.  He taught anyone willing to learn, the excitement of catching a fish.  He was a lifelong tinkerer, always figuring things out on his own by working with his hands.  Thankfully, this is a trait he has passed on to his children, grandchildren, and countless others.

Marvin had many unique hobbies and passions, including keeping horses, blacksmithing, motorcycle riding, gardening, skiing, country western dancing, barbecuing, and traveling.  As a member of the Strother Freetrapper club in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, he threw tomahawks, shot black powder rifles, tanned hides, and created beautiful beadwork.  Marv loved music.  He was a member of the Nashville Songwriters Association International, and was a writer of lyrics and poems. Even when his memory faded, just humming a melody could bring him to song.

He will be remembered for his positive, friendly outlook, and unwillingness to let anyone remain a stranger.  Marvin was a loving and supportive father, who created a wonderfully playful, supportive, and welcoming home for his children and their friends. To know him was to love him.

He is preceded in death by his loving parents, Otto and Thelma.  He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Dana Kober and Adam Bayer, with granddaughters Verona and Victoria Bayer; his son and daughter-in-law, Ben and Grace Kober; as well as his two sisters and brothers-in-law, Marilyn and Robert Dorries, and Lorna and Harvey Simpson.  He is also survived by 7 nieces and nephews, and 12 great nieces and nephews.

His cremated remains will be distributed to the places which brought him joy: the family farm, with his children, in the wilderness of the American West, and in the only state he never visited, Hawaii.

A celebration of life will occur in the future at Catawissa Union Church in Catawissa, MO. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the BakerRipley Dementia Day Center, BakerRipley.org.