He loved photography, nature, figuring out how things worked. He used to let me use his camera to take a roll of film and then he'd go through each picture and we'd talk about what would make it better next time. It was never threatening or aggravating because he was so patient and wise and compassionate. He was a great teacher. He would take us to the park and we'd feed the geese and ducks and chickadees, take pictures, learn about everything in sight, talk with the naturalist and have a picnic (often just whatever fast food was handy on the way there). He loved to be silly. He'd tease and goof around, and he was always joking about "getting away with things that Ginny wouldn't let him do".
He also loved to hear what we were doing. GUB (Great Uncle Bob, to Simon) was enthralled with Simon's drawing and asked him all sorts of questions about what he drew and how he drew it. Mom says that last Sunday, when Bob had collapsed and was in the hospital (still miraculously in no pain) that he commented on how Simon seems to draw things like he already sees it on the paper and is just showing us with his pencil.
Bob had the soul of an artist, the brain of a genius and a heart of gold. There is so much more I could say about him - about his accomplishments as an engineer and all of the other things he did, but in the end, this is what I remember. He was one of the most kind people I've ever known.Uncle Bob passed away on Tuesday, peacefully. Even though he was full of cancer, he felt no pain. I believe it is the grace of God to a good man. We'll miss Uncle Bobby a great deal. I'm certain, though, that we'll see him again in Heaven.
