November 4, 1963 – January 1, 2024
Robert Craig (Rob) Loethen was quietly competitive, fiercely loyal, a man of his word, and entirely unflappable. He loved kitchen contraptions, tech gadgets, and cars. He also abundantly loved food—both consuming it and cooking/baking it. You could always find him in the audience at his kids’ music performances and the sidelines of their sporting events. He loved a good old fashioned, being on the lake or around the firepit with friends and watching Chiefs and Mizzou football games. Mostly, he was taken from us far too soon.
Rob passed away at home on January 1, 2024, surrounded by his loving family and his much-loved and loyal cat, Finnegan, who claimed Rob as “his person” as a kitten. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January of 2023, and spent last year doing everything possible to beat the disease.
Rob was born on November 4, 1963, in Jefferson City, Missouri, the second child and oldest son of Jerome and Sue Loethen. He graduated from Helias High School in 1982 and the University of Missouri – Columbia in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with concentrations in computer science, business, and English. He always joked he was on the long-term plan at Mizzou, taking a break after his first year and returning later to finish his degree. During his second round at Mizzou, he met his future wife, Shelley. Fortuitously, she moved into the apartment across the hall from him the summer before her senior year. Rob’s car was always spotless. Once, when visiting Shelley in Columbia, her mother asked who owned “that nice car” in front of their building. Shelley responded, “The weird guy across the hall.” The rest, as they say, is history. They married on March 31, 1990, and began their life together in Overland Park, Kansas. After the birth of their daughter Sydney on March 31, 1995, they moved to Lee’s Summit, Missouri, where they welcomed their son Eric on June 9, 1998.
Rob was employed by the Missouri Department of Revenue during his second stint at Mizzou, largely working remotely long before it was popular. After graduating from college, he was hired by Dodson Group, a provider of worker’s compensation insurance, where he worked for 12 years. He spent the last 20 years of his career at Jack Henry, a premier banking software company. Rob led the team that developed the company’s data warehouse software and later moved into the sales part of the organization. One of his motivations to beat cancer was to get back on the road with his Jack Henry team. He prized the gift of working with people he truly enjoyed. Rob had many, many stories of wins, losses, adventures, and escapades on the road with his Jack Henry colleagues who were also valued friends. Just a few weeks before he passed, Rob and his family enjoyed a week together in Orange Beach, Alabama—a gift from his Jack Henry family. It was his last truly good week before his passing, and the memories from that trip will be cherished by his wife and children for years to come.
Rob was preceded in death by his father, Jerome Loethen, and youngest sister, Christi McLain. Left to remember him and share stories of his goofy sense of humor and love of life are his wife of nearly 34 years, Shelley, Lee’s Summit, Missouri; daughter, Sydney Loethen, Overland Park, Kansas; son, Eric Loethen, Lee’s Summit, Missouri; mother, Sue Loethen, Jefferson City, Missouri; siblings Cindy York (Steve), Holts Summit, Missouri; David Loethen, Kansas City, Missouri; Douglas Loethen, Jefferson City, Missouri; brothers-in-law, Ray Dick (Anne), Cheyenne, Wyoming; Brian McLain, Columbia, Missouri; and nieces and nephews Morgan McCranie; Noah, Emma, and Bess Loethen; Trevor and Cade McLain; Peyton York; and Jack Loethen.
A celebration of Rob’s life will be held on January 20, 2024, at 2:00 PM at the Arrowhead Yacht Club, 396 Winnebago Drive, Lake Winnebago, Missouri. The family will greet guests from 2:00 until 3:30. Some of Rob’s family, friends, and colleagues will share memories and stories starting at 3:30 PM. Light appetizers and beverages will be served.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (https://pancan.org) or Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care (https://www.kchospice.org/donation/).
