DES MOINES, Iowa – Bobby Schilling, a former congressman from Illinois and congressional candidate in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, has passed away after an almost 11 month battle with cancer. He was 57-years-old.
His son, Terry, announced that his father’s death on Twitter.
“He was larger than life and lived his life for God and others,” Terry Schilling tweeted and added that his father “made the world a better place.”
Today my dad lost his battle with cancer. He was larger than life and lived his life for God and others. @BobbySchilling made the world a better place. We love you, Dad! pic.twitter.com/vYD9A6QC5Q
— Terry Schilling 🇺🇸 (@Schilling1776) April 7, 2021
Bobby Schilling represented Illinois’ 17th Congressional District from 2011 to 2013. He lost re-election in 2012 to Cheryl Bustos and ran unsuccessfully in 2014 to regain his seat.
He ran for Congress in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District in 2020 after his family moved to LeClaire, Iowa, in 2016. He lost the Republican primary to then State Senator, now Congresswoman, Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
In May of 2020, Schilling announced that he had cancer, and his son, Terry, the president of American Principles Project, came back to Iowa to run his campaign for the last few weeks of the primary campaign.
“Bobby Schilling was a devoted family man, a person of deep faith, and a true patriot. As a member of Congress, he worked hard on behalf of his constituents, and was particularly proud of his work on behalf of America’s veterans,” Miller-Meeks tweeted on Tuesday evening.
“When we ran against each other last year in the Republican primary in Iowa’s Second Congressional District, Bobby proved himself to be a hard-working, focused and worthy opponent. His love for his wife and children shined through in all his conversations,” she added. “My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Christie, their 10 children, and to all of those who knew and loved Bobby.”
Schilling owned Saint Giuseppe’s Heavenly Pizza with three locations in Illinois and a fourth location in Iowa. Schilling also ran an economic development consulting business that helped bring foreign investment into the United States, with one of his primary clients being the NFL Hall of Fame.
He is survived by his wife Christie, ten children, and 14 grandchildren.
