Rev. Robert "Bob" D. Hempel

Rev. Robert (Bob) Hempel was born on June 20, 1924 in Denhoff, North Dakota, to Jacob & Ruth Gardner Hempel.  Jesus reached down and freed him from cancer, (which was diagnosed a little over two weeks ago), on Thursday, March 2nd, at home with family around him.

Bob was the seventh of eight children.  His dad died when he was not quite 4 years old, leaving his mother to raise their eight children.  Bob's mother boarded school teachers to be able to put food on the table for her family.

Bob graduated from Denhoff High School in 1942.  He worked his way through college at Northwest Nazarene College where he finished four years in three and graduated in May of 1945 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Upon graduation from college he was Youth Pastor at Spokane First Church of the Nazarene.  He was ordained as a Minister in the Church of the Nazarene on May 9, 1947.  He got a Master of Arts in Religion degree from Whitworth College in May of 1971.

Bob married the love of his life, Mary Helen Schroeder, on June 6, 1946.  They were just shy of celebrating 71 years of life and love together.  Bob and Mary Helen pastored six churches in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Kansas.  During his pastorate in Roseburg, Oregon, he was also a Chaplain at the VA Hospital.  He retired from the pastorate to work at the church headquarters in Kansas City for ten years, for a total of 45 years in ministry.

After twenty-one years in Kansas Bob and Mary Helen moved back to Idaho to be near their three daughters and their families.  They attended Nampa First Church of the Nazarene for those years.  Bob taught a Sunday School class and they remained involved until the snow fell in December of this last year when they felt they shouldn't make the drive to Nampa any more.

Bob and Mary Helen have four children: Ruth Anne (Ken) Inselman of Emmett; Beverly (Terry) Martin of Meridian; Barbara (Dennis) Falk of Boise; and Bob (Heather) Hempel of Overland Park, Kansas; his brother, Jacob Dean Hempel, Bloomington, MN; 9 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.  Bob was preceded in death by his mother and father and six of his siblings.

A memorial service will be held at Nampa First Church of the Nazarene, 601 16th Ave. So. in Nampa at 1pm on Tuesday, March 7th. The family requests memorial money be sent to the Bob and Mary Helen Hempel Ministerial Scholarship Fund at Northwest Nazarene University, 623 So. University Blvd, Nampa, Idaho 83686.  We are grateful for the wonderful, loving care of Dr. Catherine Atup-Leavitt and the caregivers at Harrison's Hope Hospice care. Services are under the direction of the Nampa Funeral Home, Yraguen Chapel, 415 12th Ave. So. – Nampa – 442-8171. An online guest book is available at www.nampafuneralhome.com

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