Obituary of Robert Joseph Helle

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA Robert J. Helle, 59, of Cedar Rapids and formerly of Dyersville was called to his heavenly home on Wednesday, July 29, 2015, at the Dennis & Donna Oldorf Hospice House in Hiawatha. Visitation will be held 2:00 - 8:00 p.m. Friday, July 31, 2015, at Kramer Funeral Home, 750 12th Ave SW in Dyersville where a parish vigil service will be held at 4:30 p.m. Visitation will continue from 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug 1, at Kramer Funeral Home prior to funeral services. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015, at St. Francis Xavier Basilica in Dyersville. Inurnment will be at a later date. Rev. Jeffrey Dole will officiate. Guests are invited to record their favorite memory of Bob on a 3x5 index card and bring it to the visitation for the family to cherish in the difficult days ahead. Bob was born in Manchester to Donald and Ardella (Deppe) Helle on October 6, 1955. He grew up on the family farm near Dyersville with his 3 siblings. Bob graduated from Beckman High School with the Class of 1973, and later Business Institute of Technology in Cedar Falls with an Advanced Business Diploma in Computer Programming. On November 17, 1984, Bob married Cindy Chapin, and they lived in Waterloo. In 1986, Bob and Cindy moved to Mt. Pleasant, where Bob worked at Health Software. In 1990, Bob began working in Cedar Rapids were they made their home for the past 25 years. Bob worked for Iowa Interstate Railroad from 1990-1992, then worked at Crandic Railway from 1992-1996. In 1996, Bob went to work in the cable division as it was starting up for McLeod USA as a Software Development Analyst until 2003. Bob became the Direct of MIS at Iowa Interstate Railroad in 2003 until his diagnosis of cancer in November 2014. Bob was a member of St. Pius X Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. Bob loved his job and loved the people he worked with. He was always checking his computer or smart phone to make sure everything was working right. In the mornings and after lunch he would walk around the office checking with everyone to make sure that they weren't having problems. Even checked how things were working when they traveled to Mexico and Germany for vacation. Together Bob and Cindy proudly raised one son, Grant Helle. Bob was always involved in Grant's activities from baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, and travel. They also had an extended family, housing RoughRider hockey players, Joseph Fallon, Hunter Bishop, Nick Grasso, Andy Miele, and Kent Patterson. They also hosted a foreign exchange student from Germany, Simon Ulc. Bob enjoyed the Roughrider hockey games, and following the various players. He also enjoyed Hawkeye football, and Cubs baseball. Bob and Cindy took many trips but the most memorable was the trip to Germany and being able to see where the Helle's originated. In addition to his wife and son, Bob is survived by his parents, Donald and Ardella Helle of Dyersville, and his siblings: Ken (Rita) Helle of Dyersville, Loras (Glenda) Helle of Sergeant Bluff; a brother-in-law, Jerome Heims of Ryan; brothers-and-sisters-in-law: Carol (Tom) Bruch of Cedar Rapids, Marlene May of New Hampton, Esther (Cy) Burlage of Cedar Falls, Rosalyn (Melvin) Miller of Ionia, A.J. (Kelly) Meyer of Decorah, Steve (Virjean) Chapin of New Hampton, Larry (Mary) Chapin of Nebraska City, NE, and Ken Rowley of Charles City; and many nieces and nephews. Bob is preceded in death by his sister, Dianne Heims, father-in-law and mother-in-law, Lynn and Rosemary Chapin, a sister-in-law, Mary Rowley and his Godparents, Eileen Egloff and William Deppe. Bob would like to thank everyone for their support and care, especially University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Hospice of Mercy, and Ken Helle, Steve Wieditz, Ellen Kurt, Ross Peffer for the many trips to Iowa City. We are blessed with the assurance that this is not the end; we will see you again one day. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.kramerfuneral.com.