Robert Wayne “Bob” Schoeff, age 98, a longtime Manhattan resident, died February 28, 2020, in Columbus, OH.
Dr. Schoeff was a Professor and Extension Specialist at Kansas State University specializing in marketing, management, and safety in the feed and grain industry.
He created a dust explosion safety video series that was widely used by OSHA.
Over the years, he received recognition for his outstanding contributions to the feed and grain industry from the American Feed Industry Association, the Grain Elevators and Processing Society and the American Feed Manufacturers Association.
He was recognized around the world as an expert in grain elevator and feed mill safety and explosion prevention and was a respected consultant in the field even after his retirement from Kansas State.
He was born September 15, 1921, in Huntington County, IN, and he grew up on a farm near Huntington.
He worked his way through college serving tables as an undergrad at Purdue University (where he met his wife, Evelyn) and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and his PhD from Purdue.
On December 23, 1945 he married Evelyn Erickson in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He worked for several agri-businesses in Indiana and Illinois before moving to Manhattan in 1960 when he joined the faculty at Kansas State University.
Survivors include his two children: Marcia Hawkes of Argyle, TX, and Eric Schoeff and his wife Kristin of Columbus, OH; his sister, Marjorie Brown of Clearwater, FL; eight grandchildren: Sara McGovern (Tim), Jeffrey Hawkes, Jerry Hawkes (Melissa), David Schoeff (Bethany), Jonathan Schoeff (Candace), Michael Schoeff, Daniel Schoeff (Sarah Niedergall), and Stephen Schoeff (Aparna Baheti); and nine great-grandchildren.
Online condolences may be left for the family through the funeral home website at ymlfuneralhome.com.
Memorial contributions may be made to either the Kansas State University Foundation for the Robert and Evelyn Schoeff Scholarship in Grain Science or the First Lutheran Church.
Contributions may be left in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home, 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502.
