Robert Bernard Dickey
April 12, 1928 – May 13, 2024
Tampa, Florida – Robert “Bob” Bernard Dickey died peacefully May 13, 2024, with family by his
side.
He was born April 12, 1928, in Keokuk, Iowa to Raymond Bernard Dickey and Winifred ‘Winnie’
Evelyn Fiedler Dickey.  
He is survived by four children, Lynne Elizabeth Dickey (Mike Polacek), Jill Ann Dickey (Michael
Gollin), Robin Bernard Dickey (Susan) and Rachel Erin Besancon (J. Adrian Besancon); and
nine grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Bernice “Peggy” Dickey (nee Inman), his
parents, and two siblings, Philip, and Nancy.
Bob attended Keokuk High School. He was president of the Phi-Chem Club, sang in mixed
chorus and joined Torch Club. He was also a member of the Hi-Y Club, which staged debates
for local business and service organizations. He joined the Junior Reserve Officers Training
Corps (ROTC). He and his sweetheart, Peggy Inman, graduated with the class of 1946.
Bob and Peggy attended the University of Iowa. Peggy became the top student in home
economics, while Bob studied economics of the broader world. They graduated in May of 1950
and were married in a service at the First Baptist Church of Keokuk December 27, 1950.
Bob attended the University of Iowa Law School and received his JD in 1952. He joined the US
Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps as a lieutenant junior grade. He and Peggy moved
to Salina, Kansas, where he alternately defended airmen and prosecuted courts-martial.
The family soon returned to Keokuk and Bob joined the Smith law firm, which later became
Smith, Dickey, and Smith.
Bob designed and built —mostly with his own hands—a three-bedroom ranch house
overlooking the Mississippi. In 1958 he ran for and was elected County Attorney of Lee County,
a position he held through successive elections for 16 years.
Amid campaigning and family camping trips, Bob also found time for raising English Setters,
hunting, fishing, woodworking, bridge, chess, and painting.
In the early 60s, Bob built a cabin cruiser, the “Peanut” with which to explore the Mississippi. He
and Peggy made their first trip to Europe in 1962. An avid reader and consumer of world news,
poetry, and folk music, Bob taught himself to play the guitar and sing folk songs. In the early
70s, he laid down his hunting rifle and took up tennis. It became Bob’s next passion, a social
game that fostered many lifelong friendships.
Bob helped with the campaign to restore the Grand Theater, served on the board of The Keokuk
Savings Bank and the Keokuk Country Club.
He wrote a novel, My Ladder’s Gone, drawing from his experiences as a young prosecutor and
his relationship with Lee County’s colorful sheriff, Harold “Toots” Delahoyde. A Renaissance
man, Bob passed on tennis, art, writing and critical thinking skills to his children and
grandchildren, along with a love of the great outdoors and travel.

When Bob retired, he and Peggy were snowbirds, then moved permanently to Siesta Key, FL.
They had many happy years there socializing at tennis and sunsets.
Peggy passed away in 2015. She and Bob had been together for more than 70 years. Bob
continued to play tennis into his 90s and frequently traveled with his children and grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, June 22 at 11:00 am at the Sandusky Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made through the Keokuk Area Community Foundation to one of
their many funds. Bob supported these specifically:
Dickey-Inman Fund: 
https://keokukfdn.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1192&sorg_id=1066
Keokuk Community School Foundation Fund:
https://keokukfdn.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1162&sorg_id=1066
Peggy Dickey Memorial Scholarship:
https://keokukfdn.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1191&sorg_id=1066
Keokuk Public Library:
https://keokukfdn.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1164&sorg_id=1066