Robert Louis “Bob” Imgarten

August 18, 1928 – June 22, 2023

Farmer and lifelong resident of Noble County, Robert “Bob” Louis Imgarten, 94, died on Thursday, June 22, 2023, at his home in Perry, Okla. He was born August 18, 1928, on the family farm in Red Rock, Okla., to Louis and Agnus (Shultz) Imgarten.

Bob spent his childhood on his family’s farm in rural Noble County. In 1937 at age nine, he drove a tractor for the first time and never looked back. At the time he couldn’t plow a straight row with the steel-wheeled Allis Chalmers tractor, but it was still enough for him to know he wanted to continue the family tradition of farming.

Bob attended Pleasant Valley Country School for eight years before transitioning to Perry High School, where he joined FFA, raised a few cows and sheep as FFA projects, and earned his State FFA Degree. He graduated from Perry High School in 1946 and married Rita Barbara Dauman on April 23, 1950. He and Rita spent the next 43 years raising their three sons on the farm near Red Rock before retiring from farming in 1993 and moving to town shortly thereafter. But staying true to the old saying “once a farmer, always a farmer,” Bob continued to drive out to the farm every day where he still had a few cows, zipped around the farm and dirt roads on his Allis-Chalmers D19 tractor, and tended to his large garden. In the summertime, one could guarantee there was always a crisp, cold watermelon waiting for you in the trusty old chicken house refrigerator. His garden always seemed to produce an abundance of cucumbers, and he often had full sacks ready to give away to friends, neighbors, and even strangers.

He enjoyed spending time fishing with the grandsons when they were young, and it wasn’t unusual to see a few catfish in the cattle stock tank after a long day trekking up and down Red Rock Creek. You could often find Bob in the small wash house at the farm with his feet up taking a nap or watching his old TV with only four channels and bunny-ear antennas. If he wasn’t there, he was likely sitting on a 5-gallon bucket under the shade tree with a buddy solving all the world’s problems or driving around “checking the crops” and visiting with neighbors.

Bob spent many hours representing the agriculture and farming communities through his service on both the Red Rock Farmers Co-op Board and the Perry Farmers Co-op Board. He also served more than 50 years on the Red Rock Conservancy Board of Directors.

He is survived by his wife of 73 years, Rita, of the home; sons, Mickey Imgarten of Madill, Okla.; Tom Imgarten (Jane) of Red Rock; and Ted Imgarten of Perry; grandsons, Michael Imgarten (Tammy) of Sacramento, Calif.; Wilton Imgarten (Becca) of Red Rock; and Steven Imgarten (Becky) of Stillwater, Okla.; and granddaughters, Mandy Bradley (Jon) of Dallas, Texas; and Jerri Whitley (Brandon) of Ness City, Kan. His seven great-grandchildren are Mason, Lucas, and Madeline Bradley of Dallas, Texas; Bryson Imgarten of Sacramento, Calif.; Kinsley and Landon Imgarten of Red Rock; and Ethan Imgarten of Stillwater. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister Dorothy McKee; and daughter-in-law Marylee Imgarten.

The funeral service is Monday, June 26, at 10 a.m., at Dighton-Marler Funeral Home followed by a graveside service at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Cemetery (615 15th Street, Perry).