Ernest Floyd Tempfel

Ernest Floyd Tempfel, age 82, of Warsaw, Missouri passed away Wednesday, November 9, 2022, at Bothwell Regional Health Center in Sedalia.

Floyd was born August 29, 1940. in Boonville, MO, a son of Francis and Katie (Troupe) Tempfel, who preceded him in death.

He married the love of his life, Karen Sue Cochran on September 2, 1961 in Boonville, Missouri. They recently celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary.

Floyd spent most of his formative years in Pilot Grove, Missouri and graduated from Boonville High School in 1958. 

Floyd with his brother Oscar bought and managed the DX service station on Main Street in Boonville before beginning work with the Orschelen Farm and Home Stores. 

He went on to manage Orschelen stores in Chillicothe and Marshall.  Floyd found his professional calling, however, when he became certified as an orthotist and prosthetist. Orthotists and prosthetists design and fabricate medical supportive devices and measure and fit patients for them. Floyd's entrepreneurial spirit led him to open and manage over 20 clinics across Missouri and Oklahoma. One of his proudest achievements was making an electronic below-the-elbow arm that was so responsive it was capable of picking up a raw egg without breaking the shell. 

Floyd and Karen enjoyed many years of living in a variety of communities including their hometowns of Pilot Grove and Boonville; Creede, Colorado; Okeechobee, Florida; and Warsaw.

Floyd enjoyed fishing and traveling in their RV home, including caravanning with friends to Alaska one summer. He had a lifelong appetite for western novels and movies.

In addition to his wife Karen, survivors include nieces Tina Tempfel Stanley of Bedford, Virginia; Saundra Cochran Smith of Clinton; Linnet Harlan of Pacific Grove, California; Laurel Harlan and Heather Harlan of Columbia; one nephew Tim Harlan also of Columbia; and brother-in-law Brent H. Cochran, Lee’s Summit. 

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother Oscar Tempfel and daughter, Tracie Lee Tempfel.

Funeral rites will begin with interment on Thursday, November 17, 2022, at 1:00 pm at Walnut Grove Cemetery in Boonville, MO followed by a Celebration of Life Service at 2:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church, Boonville with Rev.  Tad Schuldt officiating. Immediately following the service, guests are encouraged to greet and visit with the family at the church.

Memorial contributions are suggested to St. Johns United Church of Christ [yes, no apostrophe], 14191 Billingsville Road, Boonville, MO  65233

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted into the care of Meisenheimer-Page-Dady Funeral Home, Pilot Grove, MO.

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