Robert Carl Bride

Robert Carl Bride 1924 - 2025 of Ankeny, formerly of Waterloo left this world on Thursday March 13.

Bob was born on September 3rd in Floris, Iowa to Jesse Bride and Daisy (Salter) Bride. One of five children, Bob grew up during the depression and helped to support the family by cutting wood to heat the home and worked on nearby farms to survive the dust bowl summers and the harsh winters. Bob's father Jesse owned two Model T Fords at the time, and they would turn out to play a huge role in Bob's future.

After living in California in his late teens, Bob returned to southern Iowa and took a job working for a Ford dealership. It was then that he met the love of his life, Beulah Small, and they were married in 1947. In 1948 their first child Linda was born and throughout the fifties and sixties nine more came along including Barbara, Robert, Beverly, Janey, Donny, Timothy, Cindy, Sherry and David.

The family moved to Waterloo in the mid-fifties, and it would remain their home for over half a century. It was during the mid-fifties that Bob's skills in building and repairing cars would lead him to his lifelong passion - Auto racing. Bob began building race cars that would be driven on local tracks by some of the finest drivers known in the racing community. Bob could be found in the pits at Tunis Speedway and many summer weekends were spent traveling to other northeast Iowa tracks.

Bob and Beulah raised and supported ten amazing children. He accomplished this by working in mostly Ford dealerships by day and by working in his own garage by night. Bob's Garage was a single-stall operation with extra space for parts, engines, transmissions, equipment, and tools. The exterior was a faded gray color as it usually needed paint. The driveway was two strips of concrete with dirt in between. Its walls were thin with no insulation and a simple fuel oil furnace to get through the cold winter nights. None of this mattered to the scores of people who came to Bob to get their car worked on. They knew he would find what was wrong, fix it so it was right and pay a fair price.

In 1976 Bob partnered with Don Boggess to establish Transmission Rebuilders in Waterloo. Bob remained active in the business for many years beyond his initial retirement in 1994. As we look back one cannot help but be in awe of the life Bob has led and what he has done. A humble man, one might say a man of few words although this was not always the case. Bob was a hero to his children and a legend to his grandchildren. Through his example he taught us how to overcome extraordinary hardships and to face them head on. To use one's creativity and resourcefulness to rise above and become an accomplished mechanic, race car builder, breadwinner, business owner and family man.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents Jesse and Daisy, his four siblings Pauline, Verna, Jim and Don, wife Beulah and son Robert Lee. He is survived by his remaining nine children Linda Aschtgen, Arvada, CO, Barbara Ericson (Max), Scottsdale, AZ, Beverly Clancy (Larry), Broomfield, CO, Janey Sarno (Ken), Westminster, CO, Donny Bride (Kim), Ankeny, IA, Timothy Bride (Patty), Maple Grove, MN, Cindy Judas, Des Moines, IA, Sherry Ites (Scott), Indianola, IA and David Bride, Florida, 22 grandchildren, 33 great grandchildren and 6 great great grandchildren.

A private celebration of life will be held on Sunday, March 30th in Ankeny.