Robert William Diekamp

Robert William "Bob" Diekamp, age 83, of O'Fallon, passed away Friday, October 26, 2018. He was born November 8, 1934 in St. Charles, MO the son of Alfred and Esther Diekamp.
After graduating from Francis Howell in 1952, Bob went to work for Sinclair Oil Company for 17 years, then with Monsanto in 1969 and retired in 1991, then remaining with the company as a contract consultant until 2007. He played baseball for the East Missouri Baseball League as a short stop and relief pitcher for 20 years, then played fast pitch softball for over 40 years pitching his last game at 56 years old. He participated in many state tournaments, many no-hitters and two perfect games. Twice he struck out 17 of 21 batters, earning him MVP and Top Pitcher Awards. In 1986 he was inducted into the St Charles County Amateurs Sports Hall of Fame in Achievements in Softball. Bob also excelled in table tennis. In 1972-73 Bob earned the St Charles County Championship Title. In 1973 he and his daughter Michelle won the Doubles Championship. Bob spent over 25 years in the sport of bowling. He was in leagues carrying averages of 205 to 210, and earned 4, 300 perfect games. At the age of 18 Bob played dart ball carrying a 550 batting average, voted MVP in 4 all-star games. In his spare time Bob played golf, scoring a hole in one on a golf course in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Bob's dad introduced him to the sport of horseshoes when he was a young boy. It wasn't until he was 43 years old that he began pitching with the St Charles Warren County League and the Crossroads Team. He pitched his first tournament in 1977 at the NMHC. Bob has been an accomplished horseshoe pitcher for the last 30 years and has been a member of the MOHPA since 1974, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007. Bob had a lifetime of athletic activities, achieving high honors in all sports. As Bob's love for sports, he shared that love by coaching his daughters softball team, grandsons baseball team and also umpiring.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents and his sisters: Margaret, Mildred and Marion. He is survived by his wife of 24 years Rose Diekamp, his daughters: Michelle Senn (Nick), Mary Miller, and Robyn Pitts (Tyler), step-daughter, Kimberly Jones (Terry), a step-son, Duane Thompson (Becky), 12 grandchildren: Jon, Joshua, Joslyn, Carter, Jackson, Jordan, Sydney, Jessica, Luke, Kayla, Haley and Paul, one great grandson, Sammy and many other family members and friends.
Visitation will be Thursday, November 1, 2018 from 4:00 ~ 6:00 PM at Newcomer Cremation, Funerals and Receptions 837 Mid Rivers Mall Dr St Peters, MO. Memorial service will start at 6:30 PM. Memorial donation may be made to St Jude Children's Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Pl, Memphis, TN 38105 or to the Special Olympics 2945 S Brentwood Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63144.