Tribute To Bobby By His Sister, Mari
Bobby's Life
Born 12/31/61
Returned to the Lord 05/30/96
Tribute by Mari Anne Miller Wood
on her brother, Bobby
ISAIAH 55:8-12 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For
as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and
returneth not there, but watereth the earth, and maketh it
bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and
bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goeth forth out
of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void but it shall
accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the
thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and
be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall
break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of
the field shall clap their hands."
I COR. 1:27-31 "But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the
things which are mighty; and the base things of the world,
and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and
things which are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him
are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption;
That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let
him glory in the Lord."
2 Cor. 12:9-10 "And he said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in
weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in
my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches,
in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for
Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong."
In the minds eye of a child, I thought that maybe God
had had his eyes closed when he threw together my family.
Most of us didn't share the same blood, and we all seemed
to be awkwardly different for being a family. I didn't
feel that we quite "fit" neatly enough, but then again
I wasn't able to see God's hand at that point. As hard
as I tried, I couldn't help but be a little embarrassed
about Bobby. I questioned God as to whether He really
knew what He was doing. What kind of a purpose could
Bobby serve? I look back now, and am embarrassed by
myself--my lack of faith, my parochial vision, my vain
assumptions. Did God use Bobby's life? I think we
would all heartily answer "YES"! Like all of us, Bobby
had his flaws, but there were many things which made
Bobby special to many people. Many here today know
that the foundation on which Bobby stood was Jesus Christ.
He wasn't ashamed to tell you so either.
At one point years ago, Mom challenged Bobby to read
his Bible, and they had a little contest going. Of course,
Mom is still trying to catch up to Bobby in her Bible
reading. He would read his Bible a minimum of five chapters
a night, or three hours a night. He had read through at
least eight different translations, and had also read two
NIV Bibles with different notes. When he read his Bible
he also read all the notes. He loved the Scriptures.
He took four Bible correspondence courses from
Moody Bible Institute.
Bobby's second great love was people. He could
talk your ears off if you'd let him. More than that
though, Bobby took a genuine interest in people. As
the Sandusky Register carrier, he took the time to make
sure that older ladies wouldn't have to bend over to
pick up their paper, or walk too far to get it. He
checked on the older neighborhood folks too, by seeing
if they had gotten their paper from outside.
Bobby knew everyone in the neighborhood. He loved
the opportunity to go door to door, which he often did
to help raise money for Easter Seals or Huron Health
Care Center or any other worthy cause he could help.
There are at least a couple people I know of who came
to know the Lord because Bobby invited them to church.
Bobby knew everyone at the grocery store and
Joni's Hallmark, as he would go over there at least
once a month to buy Mom flowers and a card saying
"Thank You" for being a good mom. I remember at
Christmas time when we exchanged gifts with the family
member whose name you had drawn earlier in the year.
When Bobby had me, he would go way over the allotted
amount to spend to buy me something really special.
Bobby spent much time at the Huron Health Care
Center visiting Grandma and Grandpa and others along the
way. Not only did he love old people, he also loved
little kids. He spent much time and energy working with
the RA's at Huron First Baptist, and the AWANAs program
at Lakeview Baptist in Vermilion. When Anita Travis
would have her grandson over to the house, Bobby would
go and play checkers with him.
Whether it was with family or friends or people
he didn't yet know, Bobby loved being with people.
Every year he would have his CPR license renewed. I
think that he hoped to one day save a life. Tim Fleck
tells the story of Bobby at karate class. Infant CPR was
the subject, and as Bobby practiced saving the dummy
baby's life with the resuscitative heart pumps applied
by the hands, the baby's head went flying off the baby
as the nurses' mouths dropped. I suppose nobody else
had quite done it like Bobby had!
I remember one family holiday when we were
cooking out in the backyard on the grill. As Nicholas
was running naked through the backyard with only a red
fireman's hat on, Cyndy, Bill, Bobby, Jeff and I were
all having a water fight running around in the back yard.
One thing Bobby never got to do because of his
seizures was to get his driver's license. Jeff one
day took Bobby to the golf course and let him drive the
golf cart. I think they both came back not wanting to
ever do that again.
There were two dreams that I knew of that Bobby had:
The first might have been more of my dream for him.
I always had wanted Bobby to see and enjoy the ocean.
Last year, for the first time in probably 20 years,
Mom and Dad took a week long vacation away from Huron.
Mom, Dad, Bobby, Jeff, and I all met on Ocracoke Island,
NC for a week. Some of you probably have had your ears
filled with Bobby's stories from that week. So Bobby
got to paddle a sea kayak, ride a horse along the beach,
look for sea shells along the wild beaches, and sail in
an old-time schooner on the waters that Blackbeard
used to sail.
The other dream none of you will be surprised
about. That was to attend an Ohio State football game.
Jeff graduated from Ohio State University and gets
tickets every year for one game, so Jeff invited Bobby
to the game. He was ecstatic! Bobby would usually
watch the games in his room, and we all knew when a
game was on by his hoopin' and hollerin'! He of
course flew his OSU flag on game day, along with
the American flag. After a bathroom had been put
in downstairs, Jeff drew and painted Brutus on the
wall at Bobby's request.
Bobby was not only loyal, but was extremely
patriotic. He saved money to be able to buy a flag
pole and all the stuff that goes with it. I remember
the day a neighbor came and helped him to put it up.
I thought to myself, "No, it couldn't be a normal,
indiscreet flag pole and flag--it had to be HUGE!"
The flag pole and flag still overshadow the house,
a sweet reminder of my brother. He flew the flag
faithfully. He took it down before dark every night.
He even went down to our neighbor Steve and had him
teach the proper way to fold his flag, and when Bobby
got it just right (with only the blue part showing)
he would proudly bring it to Mom to see. Bobby even
had a special flag. He wrote to Congressman Gilmore
requesting a flag that had been flown over the
United States capitol.
Bobby loved working with tools. He followed
Uncle Bob around whenever he was working, and would
be content to be his shadow. Uncle Bob gave Bobby
his dog because of allergy problems, and Bobby named
this long-haired daschund Rusty, and would get down
every day on his hands and knees to play with him.
When Bobby had seizures, Rusty would lick his face
and stay by his side.
God has done amazing things in my family.
Looking back, I can see so clearly that when God
put my family together, He made a perfect fit.
I have been incredibly blessed to have Bobby as
a brother. He has taught me and challenged me by
the way he lived his life. As a family, we know
that Bobby is where he dreamed of being, and that
the Scriptures are more alive to him in heaven than
they could have been on earth. He is walking with
Jesus, whole, complete, lacking in no ways.
If Bobby could say anything to us, I think
he would encourage us all to stay close to Jesus,
to read the Bible and pray. His life is an inspiration,
a testimony.
Let's celebrate his homecoming today!
