Longtime attorney Schroff dies

Longtime Springfield attorney Robert William Schroff died Feb. 7 at the Manor at Elindale following an extended period of health issues. He was 83.

Schroff, who opened his own law firm in 1969, is a past president of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association and served stints as chairman of the Springfield Zoning and Planning Board and City Utilities Board of Public Utilities, according to his obituary posted on the Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home Web site.

Funeral services are scheduled 3 p.m. Feb. 15 at First and Calvary Presbyterian Church, 820 E. Cherry St., where he served as an elder and a deacon. In lieu of donations, his family is asking that donations be made to First and Calvary Stratman Library or to Hospice Compassus.

After receiving a degree in marketing and accounting from Kansas University, Schroff worked for the Carnation Co., which later was acquired by Nestlé. He left the company to enroll at the school of law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, attending night school while working for Kansas City Life Insurance Co.

Schroff moved his family to Springfield in 1955 when he joined the Mann Firm, after obtaining his law degree from the University of Kansas City, according to his obituary.

During his career, Schroff also served as a member of the board of Twin Oaks Country Club and as a senior volunteer at St. John’s Auxilliary.

Schroff was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Richard. He is survived by his wife, Grace; brothers Carle, of Springfield, Charles, of Poulsbo, Wash., James, of Topeka, Kan., and John, of Waynesboro, Miss.; three sons, Daniel, of Mesa, Ariz., Robert Jr., of Edmonds, Wash., and Stephen, of Springfield; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, the obituary said.[[In-content Ad]]