Farewell, Bob, until we meet again in heaven...

A twinkle in his eye... always!

Mischief in his words and ideas... often!

Utter faithfulness to Scriptures, Creed and Confession... always!

Big hearted... usually!

A leader, a teacher, a thinker, a talker... always!

Those all describe my friend, Bob, whom we said farewell to today at his funeral at our church.

There were so many in attendance as he was so beloved by so many! The Lutheran Braille Workers were there, the VFW, our congregation in force... and almost 50 family members from over 5 states to include his wife and all his children, all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all his living brothers and sisters, all his nieces and nephews, cousins and children of cousins, friends from here and far away...

What a testimony to a life well-lived.

Bob has been a member of our congregation for over 14 years, having moved here from Los Angeles upon his retirement. He gently encouraged me to give the time I could to our congregation. And so began my service in our church.

He persuaded me after some time to serve on the Board of Education when we had a day school at our congregation (me -- the homeschool mom!) while Bob was President of the Congregation.

Through a serious of events, I ended up as President of the Board of Education when the day school was going through it's final stages before being closed. It was an excruciating time. A heart-wrenching battle that nearly tore our congregation apart. Bob led me through it all with his humor, wit and wisdom and taught me so much along the way about dealing with matters like that, and about life. With his utter reliance upon Jesus he showed us all how to behave during difficult times. Those who were on either side of that issue were in attendance today which tells you that Bob's character through it all was respected and admired though they may not have agreed with his opinion on the matter.

Bob and I both resigned from the positions we held amid a situation that was beyond our doing, saving or changing. From that alliance, we then learned the slow process of reconciliation which isn't quite complete, but is well on its way.

Bob and I served the last couple of years as "counters." We are the folks who go into the bowels of the church following the service to record the tithes and offerings. At our church we do this in pairs. We worked efficiently together, chatting and learning more about each other along the way. Often we chatted long after our duties were done, so much did we find to talk about!

And now my friend, and dear mentor, has been called home by His Lord and Savior. And I will miss him so much.

Please keep his beloved wife, Darlene, and the rest of his family in your prayers. Such a large-hearted man leaves a big hole, although they trust in Jesus, his separation from them is hard.