Bobby Chavez

Jesse Robert (Bobby) Chavez passed away on April 10, 2022, in Tacoma, Wash. 

Bobby was born in Iola, on Sept. 7, 1957. He graduated from Iola High School in 1975, where he excelled in tennis, track, and baseball. 

He then served in the U.S. Army as a Medical and Dental Specialist and retired as a Staff Sergeant in 1994. 

He resided in Tacoma,  and taught computer skills at Tacoma Community College. He volunteered 2,571 hours at the American Lake Veterans Golf Course and loved barbecue and cooking for everyone. Bobby often returned to Iola to visit family and friends because “There is no place like home.” 

No matter who you were, Bobby was your friend, and more than likely, he would have been mayor of Iola one day. 

Bobby is survived by his wife, Mary Trukositz, his son, daughter, and grandchildren, and survived by sisters, Mary Queckboerner, Sylvia Comer, Josie Marlow and many nieces and nephews. Family and friends are welcome to attend a military service in Bobby’s honor at Highland Cemetery at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 7, followed by a celebration of life at the end of South Washington Street, where Bobby and his sisters grew up. In place of flowers, the family is collecting sports equipment for the children of Iola under 18.

Please drop off donated items in the box on the front porch of 214 S. Cottonwood St., Iola. Checks can be made out to the Bobby Chavez Sports Memorial.