Robert Warder

Robert “Bob” Warder was born in Zanesville, Ohio, Nov. 14, 1937 to Richard C. and Edith (Moser) Warder.  He attended elementary schools in West Virginia and Murfreesboro, Ark.

At the completion of his junior year in Arkansas  Bob and his family moved to Pierre, S.D., in 1954. His father was employed as a project engineer on the Oahe Dam Project. His mother was an elementary school teacher in Pierre.  Bob had two brothers, Richard, C. Jr. and John M.

After graduating from high school in Pierre Bob attended the University of South Dakota (USD) graduating with a degree in political science.

After undergraduate school he worked for the State of South Dakota Civil Defense Department for three years. He then attended the USD School of Law.   While there he married Katherine Stewart and to them a son, Robert A., Jr., was born.

After law school Bob joined the firm of Gunderson, Farrar and Aldrich in Rapid City, S.D. He became a partner and practiced law there for 17 years. 

In 1972 Bob married Jo Anna Poppe. They celebrated their 50th Anniversary in January 2022. They were business partners and enjoyed extensive travel.

In 1983 the family moved to Hill City, S.D., where Bob had a law office and was involved in real estate. Bob was part-time city attorney in Hill City, Keystone and Hermosa, S.D. In 1990 the Warders purchased the Black Hills Central Railroad (1880 Train) and still maintain that family business.

For those who knew Bob, they know how he loved to visit with anyone who would listen, andsome who didn’t. He was very well read, could provide facts and figures and could tell a good story. He liked woodworking and restoring his Model A Fords.

Bob loved the law. He was a past president of the Pennington County Bar.  He was Special Assistant Attorney General for many years. He was Appeals Agent for Selective Service until the draft was discontinued. He handled cases in South Dakota, Montana, Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming.

 Bob represented the state and all the counties in the Milwaukee Railroad Bankruptcy until the state purchased the railroad. He was admitted to practice in the State of South Dakota, the Eighth Circuit of Appeals and the United State Supreme Court.

Bob passed away Dec. 27, 2022 at St. Martin’s Assisted Living in Rapid City. He was 85.

He is survived by his wife, Jo Anna; daughter, Meg (Justin) of Hill City;  sons, Rob (Tacy) of Albuquerque, N.M. and Greg (Claudia) of San Jose, Calif.; three granddaughters, Annika, Sophia and Dagny; two brothers, Richard (Dianne) of Columbia, Mo., and John (Toni) of Pottsboro, Texas; brothers-in-law, Ken (Karen) Poppe of Gold Canyon, Ariz., and Mike Poppe of Murdo, S.D. and many friends and relatives.

A memorial will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial can be made to the South Dakota State Railroad Museum, PO Box 1070, Hill City, SD 57745 or the USD School of Law, Vermillion, SD  57069.