Robert Edward Homan

Local country and western singer Robert Edward “Bob” Homan died Friday, May 3, 2019, at his residence.  He was 89.

He was born March 22, 1930, in Tiffin, to Charles Edward and Hazel Belle (Michaels) Homan.

Bob moved back to Tiffin in May 2017, after living in Yakima, Wash. for 58 years.  He was a 1948 graduate of Columbian High School.  He started his musical career in 1950 when he joined the Hoosier Cornhuskers on WKJG Radio in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

From March 1951 to February 1953 he served in the US Army and was stationed in Yokohama, Japan, where he had a country band “The Far East Rangers.”  After his discharge from the Army, he organized “The Golden River Boys” with Barbara Price and appeared weekly on WOWO Radio in Fort Wayne for two years.  The group worked at the popular Buck Lake Ranch in Angola, Indiana the summer of 1956 with Grand Ole Opry stars, such as the Wilburn Brothers, Jean Shepard, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Ray Price, Red Sovine, Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, Jimmy Dean, and movie star Tex Ritter.

In 1957 Bob moved to Jacksonville, Ill. and appeared daily on “The Ozark Varieties Show” on WLDS Radio until May 1959.  He spent that summer in Nashville, Tenn. supposedly to cut a record which never happened, but he did get to spend every weekend backstage at the Ryman Auditorium and sang numerous times on Ernest Tubbs’ Midnight Jamboree over WSM Radio.

In September 1959, Bob’s old Army buddy Bert Wells, who played in his band in Japan, invited Bob to move to Yakima, Wash. and appear daily on his TV show on KIMA.  That show made him a popular singer in the Yakima area for 58 years.  He played in various duos, trios, and quartets until he formed his own band, “4 Your Pleasure.”

After playing many years at the Eagles and American Legion clubs, he teamed up with Yakima’s popular accordionist Al Maletta for 22 years.

In 1969, Bob released his first LP album “Beamin’ All Over”, followed by another album in 1972, “Phases of Love”, which was recorded in Bakersfield, Calif. with Buck Owens’ famous Don Rich and The Buckeroos.

He recorded nine CDs in Yakima from 2000 to 2015.  In May 2017 he moved home to Tiffin to be with his family.

Bob had the longest running Fan Club in country music from 1950 to 2015.

He is survived by a brother, James Homan of Tiffin, and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Merle and Earl Homan, and four sisters, Mary Ellen Boner, Alice Cecelia Pfeiffer, Ruth Evelyn Fisher, and Jean Elizabeth Pfeiffer.

Visitation will be Wednesday, May 8, 2019, from 10 am until time of services at 11 am, at Traunero Funeral Home and Crematory, 214 S. Monroe St., Tiffin, Ohio  44883 (419)447-3113.  Rev. Tom Everett will officiate, will burial following in Fairmont Cemetery.  The United Veterans Council of Seneca County will perform military rites at the cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Seneca County United Veterans Council, or the Seneca County Humane Society.

For directions, to order flowers, to send condolences, or to view the tribute video, go to www.traunerofuneralhome.com