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Bob Templin, 93

Robert G. Templin, 93, of Post Falls, Idaho, died Feb. 28, 2017, at the Schneidmiller House in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He was born Sept. 23, 1923, in Ritzville, Wash., to August and Elsie (Wellsandt) Templin.

He grew up in the Ritzville area and got started in the restaurant business as a 13-year-old boy washing dishes. The family lived on a farm, but Bob lived in town during his high school years. He washed dishes until 1 a.m. at Lan’s Café in Ritzville after school. That made studies rough, but it was the beginning of a career as the leader of a tourism empire.

After graduation from high school, Bob enrolled in college at Washington State University, but World War II came along and he never got to attend WSU. Bob served admirably in World War II and was actually drafted again to service in the Korean War. Fresh out of Army service after World War II, 22-year-old Bob and his brother, Delbert, started the first Templin’s Grill in Ritzville. Top-shelf cuisine at modest prices made the first Templin’s a rousing success.

Word came to the Templin brothers that a Coeur d’Alene restaurant, Miller’s Café, was for sale. Bob had tried to work there a year earlier, only to be told that he was too young. So Bob and Del bought the place in 1946 and named it Templin’s Grill and began a North Idaho tourism legacy. Dollar-fifty T-bone steaks with all the trimmings and 85-cent spaghetti dinners kept customers coming back. Bob doled out free meals for servicemen, expanding his reputation for generosity, which still lives to this day.

Bob entered into a very successful land venture and created Western Frontiers Inc., the parent company of what would become one of the area’s largest hospitality operations. The company’s soul rose from a run-down rail yard on the waterfront that was cleared in 1965 for a 44-room hotel called the North Shore. The convention center (the first in the state of Idaho) blossomed and the North Shore expanded three times in the coming years, growing to include 180 rooms, two restaurants and a lounge. Western Frontiers continued growing and by the early 1980s encompassed 18 properties stretching as far as Fort Wayne, Ind.

After the Western Frontiers chapter of Bob’s life, he started a brand new adventure. In 1985, he decided to build Templin’s Resort and Conference Center on the banks of the Spokane River in Post Falls. Three expansions later the complex stands as a North Idaho hotel and convention destination. Bob has made enormous contributions to every community where he has lived.

Bob is a founding member of Christ the King Lutheran Church and has held virtually every office the congregation has to offer. He was always very active in the building committees. He served the Northwest District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod for 32 years and participated in much committee work in that role. He was the patriarch of our congregation. Bob also participated through his life in many community services, starting in 1946 with the CDA Newcomers Club, being appointed to the Idaho Business Council, the Idaho Travel Council (twice) and appointed to the Best Western Governor for Dist. II, Region 2-18 in 1986. He won the award for National Hospitality Industry Investment Conference — New York University. He was a member of the National Restaurant and Hotel Association. He was President of the Idaho Inn Keepers Association, and a member of the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce.

He also served as President of the Coeur d’Alene Jaycees and President of the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce and President and Founder of the Coeur d’Alene Central Development Association. He served as Advisory Board Member for Washington Mutual Savings Bank and Cavanaugh’s Hospitality Corp. He also served on the Post Falls Education Foundation and the Post Falls Historical Society and many others too numerous to mention. In 2001, Bob was inducted into Idaho’s Hall of Fame and he will live as a “hall of famer” in the hearts of thousands of people.

He is survived by his wife, Mary of Post Falls; son Robert E. Templin of Worley, Idaho; daughters Barbara Templin of Post Falls and Blythe Jacobs-Mosher of Post Falls; a brother, Chester Templin of Ritzville; grandchildren Robert Jacobs, Taylir Jacobs, Julian Mosher and Bobby M. Templin; great-grandchildren Kaydence, Kendall, Kennedy and Sawyer; and nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Delbert Templin.

The memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 4, 2017, at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Coeur d’Alene, with Yates Funeral Home, Coeur d’Alene, in care of the arrangements.

The family prefers memorial contributions in Bob’s name to Hospice of North Idaho, 9493 N. Government Way, Hayden, ID 83835.

You may visit Bob’s online memorial and sign his guest book at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.