Glen L. Keppy

     Glen L. Keppy, 77, a well-known farmer and life-long resident of Eldridge, Iowa died on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at Crest Health Center in Davenport, Iowa.

     A service to celebrate his life will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Friday, March 21, 2025, at Faith Lutheran Church in Eldridge. Burial will follow at Davenport Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 3:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. on Thursday, March 20, 2025, at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the North Scott Educational Foundation, the Eldridge Volunteer Fire Department, or the North Scott FFA. Chambers Funeral Home of Eldridge is assisting the family with arrangements.

     Glen was born on April 11, 1947, to Roy and Myrtle Keppy. He grew up working on the farm with cattle, hogs, chickens, corn, soybeans, oats, and hay. His father gave him some time off from the farm to participate in sports at North Scott High School. Glen was grateful for that and made the most of it. He loved football, wrestling, and track and made good friends in those sports. With all the time sports and farmwork took you might think he wouldn't have time to get in trouble, but he did manage that on occasion. One such time was when he decided to skip football practice to work on the farm. The coach came out to the farm and talked with Roy about why he wasn't at practice and Roy along with the coach got him from the hog barn and made him run the three miles up to Eldridge to join practice with the coach following in his car!

    Glen also made time for a classmate and beautiful girl, Jean Moffit, who he married on June 14, 1969. Glen went to the University of Platteville with Jean by his side where he continued football and wrestling and an animal science degree. With his 6’3” 250lb frame he caught the eye of some NFL scouts and got to prove to Chuck Noll holding the stopwatch, head coach of the Steelers, his impressive 4.6 second 40-yard dash time. After some time with the Steelers and then the Lions and Packers he came back home to play football with the Quad City Mohawks semi-pro team. Ultimately, Glen turned in his gear and decided to focus on raising pigs and kids.

     Farming was always his passion along with his family, community, and many friends. He loved showing pigs from small hometown shows to national competitions and had success with his father and family winning with cross breeding different genetic lines. He believed it was important to be involved in the industry he was a part of, which drove his devoted leadership and advocacy efforts with the Iowa Pork and National Pork Producers Associations. He helped shape policies and practices that would ensure the sustainability and growth of the pork industry. He also spent countless hours with great friends cooking pork chops at any function he could to show people the great taste of an Iowa pork chop. Some spots of doing that were North Scott High School football games, the Bix-7 Road Race, the Quad-City Golf Classic, Washington DC receptions, and two Iowa Hawkeye Football Bowl games.

     Glen felt strongly that it was important to be involved in things locally, so he lived it by being active in several wonderful groups; the North Scott Rotary Club, Eldridge Co-Op/River Valley Co-Op, the North Scott School Board, Silos and Smokestacks, Scott County GOP, Farm Bureau, and 4-H. Glen also opened his farm to thousands of schoolchildren, offering educational tours that bridged the gap between urban and rural life. His ability to make farming relatable and engaging left a lasting impression on countless students and teachers. In addition, he served as a director at CHS Inc, which he loved and also led him to spend 5 years in Washington DC as a political appointee in the George W Bush administration with agriculture and rural affairs where he saw firsthand the slow and frustrating pace of the US Government. He loved and hated politics at the same time but thought it was important to stand up for what he believed in while being deliberate to listen and understand that everybody else can have their opinion as well. His lasting impression on his family and friends are his strongest attributes: strong work ethic, high integrity, compassion and kindness, and a love for Iowa agriculture. God bless you, Glen.

     Those left to honor his memory include his wife, Jean; his children, Shelley (Chuck) Bulechek of Solon, Iowa, Chad (Carrie) Keppy of Davenport, Neal (Erika) Keppy of Eldridge and Paul (Adva) Keppy of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; his grandchildren, Alayna and Alyson Bulechek, Evan and Christian Keppy, Carolyn, Hayden, Palmer and Morgan Keppy and Naomi, Tali and Etai Keppy; his sisters, Annette (Frank) Remsburg of Holland, Michigan and Ila Jean (Dan) Taylor of Bouton, Iowa; his brother, Dale (Tamia) Keppy of Coal Valley, Illinois; and many other relatives and wonderful friends.

     Glen was preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Myrtle Keppy; and his infant sister, Royce Adell Keppy.