Robert O. “Bob” Ream was born July 10, 1939, in Smith County, Kansas, to Chas. H. and Lona E. (Allen) Ream. He passed away October 10, 2016, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska, at the age of 77.
Bob was raised in Lebanon, Kansas, along with his sister, Charlene, and brother, Glenn. He graduated from Lebanon High School in 1957.
On August 24, 1958, Bob married his high school sweetheart, Sharon Myers, at the Womer Country Church in Smith County. They just celebrated their 58th Wedding Anniversary. Bob and Sharon were blessed with three children, Pam, Debbie and Terry, in addition to nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Bob deeply loved his family and felt the greatest legacy he could leave behind was his children and grandchildren.
Bob and Sharon lived their first six months together in Kimball, Nebraska, where he worked in the oilfields. After being burned in an oilfield accident, they moved back to Lebanon, where Bob worked as an automobile mechanic at the local Ford dealership. He was a talented and skilled mechanic who later worked in Atwood, Kansas, and Oberlin, Kansas, eventually owning his own repair shop, R & S Repair. They were members of Faith Lutheran Church in Oberlin.
Bob had a passion for doing things the right way, and a lot of that fueled the desire to make things go fast. His racing passion started while helping one of his best friends during a rough time. That propelled him into a lifetime of working on many types of racing cars, helping anyone that needed or wanted to get better. Bob and Sharon owned many cars in that time with sprint cars the priority. That lead them to three IMCA National Sprint Car Owner Championships and many numerous other awards covering many years. But most importantly, were the relationships he developed from all he touched, from drivers, to crews, to competitors, to sponsors and to all the fans.
He is survived by his wife, Sharon; three children, Pam and Brian Simonsson of Oberlin, Debbie Leitner and Doug Wilson of Gem, and Terry and Peggy Ream of Oberlin; brother, Glenn Ream of Alabama; brother-in-law, Dean Myers and wife Donna of Smith Center; nine grandchildren: Travis Castle (Brad Dixon), Krista Gutchewsky (Brian), Breck Simonsson (Bre), Nathan Simonsson, Haley Kingery (Drew), Kaydee Helus (Brandon), Andy Leitner (Kyle Huntley), Abby Ream (Jason Black), and Lacey Tally (Jebb); 10 great-grandchildren: Gavin, Jena and Jillian Gutchewsky; Braden, Harper, and John Clayton Kingery; Haydin, Joslyn and Gunner Helus; and Tenley Tally.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents; sister and brother-in-law, Charlene and James Barrett; grandson, Jason Leitner; and father and mother-in-law, Everett and Ila Myers.
Funeral Service: Friday, October 14th at 2:00 p.m. at the funeral home in Oberlin with Pastor Shelly Holle officiating
Visitation: Thursday 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. and Friday after 8:00 a.m. at the funeral home
Memorial Fund: Robert Ream Memorial Fund
Burial: Oberlin Cemetery