It is really
hard to know where to begin to write about our beloved Bobby. Do we start at the beginning, July 27, 1962, or do we start
at the end, May 2, 2001, or somewhere in between? Some of you have known bobby all of his life, so you already know
the kindof person he was. Kind, firm but gentle, loving and generous. As a child, he was very compassionate, even
toward animals, and this trait carried over into manhood. He loved people and accepted them for who they were as Gods
creation, even thugh he did not always like some of the things they did, or the way they chose to live their life.
Bobbys philosophy was that death is just a part of life and although we miss
a lost loved one or friend, we should not mourn for very long, but get on with life. We know this is right, but, it
is very hard to stop the saddness and the tears that come flooding in. And, he had never lost a part of himself...a
child.
We all have some good memories of Bobby. Before his pain got to bad, he
proudly drew up the plans, (to exact specifications to get the permit) for, and helped to build the patio, put a new roof
on our house, and put new ceramic tile on the kitchen counters. Working together with his dad, they did a wonderful
job.
Bobby had a problem with seizures, and spent many hours in the emergency room,
or in the hospital. The many medications he was on over the years, did little to help alleviate the seizures. That is
until about a year and a half before he died, when the seizures became less frequent.
Bobby was an 11 year cancer survivor. He developed cancer of the jaw bone
where a wisdom tooth was supposed to be. It started with the saliva gland. He had surgery to have the entire left, lower
jaw bone removed from just below the ear to the middle of the chin. Less than a year later, he had more surgery to rebuild
the jaw bone, but, it became infected and had to be removed. He went through a lot during this time...and lived the
last 12 years of his life with no jaw bone, but, because he wore a mustache, it was hardly noticable...and he remained cancer
free.......
Although he was in pain the entire trip due to degenerative discs in his spine, Bobby
thouroughly enjoyed his visit when he went with us to Oklahoma in November 2000, for Thanksgiving and to visit his brother,
Ray, and his family. I am so thankfull that he was able to make the trip to see his brother for what turned out to be
the last time.
Raymond, Lisa, and Deanna all looked up to their big brother and thought he could
do no wrong. Bobby stated that was a difficult position to be in, because he certainly was not perfect, and he did not
want to make to many mistakes for his brother and sisters to follow. I really don't think he did to bad of a job, because,
over all, they all turned out pretty good.
He always enjoyed the family get-togethers for birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving,
or just because. In fact, he liked the "just because" times the best, because he thought a person should not wait for
a certain day to show people how much they mean to you. I don't know ifit was the people, or the food which he enjoyed
more. And, just to look at him, you would never know of the pain he was in almost 24 hours a day. He was happy
when, just a few days before he died, the doctor finally found something that lessened the pain...if only a little.
About a month after Bobby died, his dad said he had a dream about him, very briefly.
In the dream, Bobby was sitting there, smiling. He told his dad, "I feel good, and I'm happy".
