Robert Christoffersen

Robert Frank Christoffersen, 83, Bettendorf, IA, and formerly of DeWitt, IA, died peacefully on Friday July 10, 2026, at Genesis East Hospital in Davenport, IA.

A Celebration of Life event will be held at Asbury Methodist Church in Bettendorf on Sunday August 2 from 1:30 – 4:30 pm. As per his wishes, Bob’s body has been donated to the University of Iowa College of Medicine’s Deeded Body Program, the same program Mimi, his wife, also gifted her body to when she passed away in 2018.

Bob was married to the love of his life, Michelon “Mimi” Christoffersen for 55 years. He was a 1960 graduate of Dewitt Community High School where he excelled as an all-conference star basketball player, he was a member of the Iowa National Guard’s 34th Infantry Division ("Red Bulls"), and he earned a Management and Supervision associate degree from Clinton Community College.

Bob started his career working in carpentry & masonry in DeWitt with his relatives for a couple of years, then worked at DuPont for 21 years in the Polymer Products Division (Cellophane and Clysar shrink films) in Clinton, and then for over 20 years he and Mimi had their own handmade floral, willow grapevine decorations & furniture, and craft business where they participated in many craft shows around the Midwest.

After “retiring” Bob continued working part-time in customer focused jobs where he could share his strong work ethic, engage with people, and apply his wide breadth of experience and knowledge to help others, such as at North Scott Foods in Eldridge (produce department), HyVee in Bettendorf (Deli), and The Little Red Barn in Davenport (veggies & sweetcorn, flowers & bedding plants, pumpkins & gourds).

Bob loved making new friends, helping people, and his personality and favorite activity of talking with anyone, of any age, about anything, at any time was treasured by everyone that got to spend time with him.

Bob’s passion for the past 9 years involved volunteering regularly at the Growing With Grace Early Learning Center childcare and preschool in Bettendorf where he was affectionately known as “Mr Bob”. Whether he was having donut day with the kids, decorating cookies, making a variety of holiday themed crafts, teaching them how to plant vegetables and pot flowers, building a pumpkin & cornstalk display, raking & playing in the leaves, barrel rolling down a hill, reading the handmade cards the kids made him, or just sitting and talking with the children about whatever they wanted to tell him, he was incredibly happy to give his time and share his heart with his extended family.

Bob also enjoyed contributing his gardening expertise to the Bettendorf Asbury Garden Ministry where he volunteered many years of his time to their efforts in growing, harvesting, and distributing tens of thousands of pounds of fresh fruits & vegetables per year to local food pantries, shelters, senior living centers, and families in need.

Sports were a big part of Bob’s life, and he was a longtime fan of the Chicago Cubs, Iowa Hawkeyes, and Iowa State Cyclones and he enthusiastically cheered on the teams in person with family members or watching on tv. Throughout his life he was also an avid outdoorsman and he loved fishing, hunting, exploring nature, apple picking at his cousin’s orchard, gardening, and building things – all things he taught his kids and grandkids and could share together with them throughout the years.

Above all else, Bob deeply loved his family. Being a fun Grandpa who could pass on his wisdom, lessons learned, and funny stories was a priority to him. His adventures and spending time with Ryan, Heather, Justin, and Trevor were legendary and included trips to Field of Dreams, Wrigley Field, Maquoketa caves, Six Flags, Wisconsin Dells, camping & making s’mores, baking cookies & making fudge, and playing yard games, card games, and board games. He loved just talking and being with his grandkids and watching them grow and excel at basketball, cheerleading, band, show choir, school, work, and life.

While his love for Iowa was enormous, he also enjoyed traveling to explore new places, visit family in other states, or just drive down some country roads to see what he would find. Some of his favorite places to visit included; Fripp Island & Hilton Head S.C., Utah, Mackinaw Island, Martha’s Vineyard, the California coast, Canada, Seattle, Vermont, and England.

Bob was born July 25, 1942 and raised in DeWitt, by his mother Marellene (Gravert) and stepfather Richard C. Nowlin. His grandparents (Frank & Sarah Gravert) also played a very important part of his life.

Those left to honor his memory include; his daughter Angie Christoffersen of Madison, WI and son Mark (Stacy) Christoffersen of Davenport; his grandchildren Ryan Christoffersen of Chicago, Heather (Cory) Johnson of Chicago, Justin Christoffersen (Angela Schauer) of Marion, IA, Trevor Christoffersen of Eagan, MN, and his sisters Sue (Richard) Treharne of Virginia, Jane (Gary) Burden of Utah, Richard (Sherry) Nowlin Jr. of Illinois, and their families.

Bob was preceded in death by his wife Mimi (2018) and son Thomas (2026), his parents and stepfather, his sister Dorothy (Fred) Steele, and brother David (Marie) Nowlin.

Online condolences may be expressed to the family by viewing his full obituary at https://www.hmdfuneralhome.com/obituaries