After a short
illness, Bobby Blockus passed away. He
was one of the most unique persons I have ever
known. His time on the earth was short
but he left a gap in our hearts that will never be filled. I held a special place in Bob’s life; I was
his brother-in-law, but I also acted as his big brother, father figure, and
guardian. I was asked to say something at his memorial service - not because I
knew him best but because I knew the many sides of him. Here is what I said:
I first met Bobby in December 2005 at Walt Disney. We were
waiting on line for Splash Mountain and he turned to me and said, “Sean Connery
is the best James Bond. Spy missions.” And then he turned away. I thought I was being punked - but I quickly
learned that that was the way Bobby was. Over the next fourteen years I would
learn to appreciate just how special he was to everyone who called him a son,
brother, uncle, and friend.
Robert F. Blockus Junior was born in Boston, Massachusetts to
Robert Senior and Helen Blockus. He did
most of his growing up in Upper Arlington, Ohio. He was a brother to Linda and
Lisa - and I love that he tormented his little sister, Lisa, from time to time
by pinning her down and teasing her.
Typical sibling stuff.
He was raised in a home with good Christian values - values
that would stay with Bob all of his life. He skied, and hiked, and was into
scouting with his dad’s Boy Scout Troop. He is one of those rare Scouts who
attained the rank of Eagle Scout. He was
part of the Explorer Scout Program with the local police department and a
college graduate. Bobby was very proud
of his upbringing in Ohio and very proud of his accomplishments.
Bobby had great work ethic and filled a lot of jobs that
fit his personality and his love of the great outdoors. He worked in the National Parks of Glacier
Bay, Denali, Big Bend, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. He was proud of his eleven years at Chik-fil-A
and we were all openly jealous of his time working at Walt Disney World.
As Betty points out, Bobby was born with a bad heart - “bad”
being a general layman’s term for heart defect called tetralogy of fallot. But that is only a medical term. I knew
Bobby, there was nothing wrong with his heart. In fact, Bobby had one of the biggest and
gentlest hearts of any person I know.
Bobby’s heart was good.
Bobby was a good person and a great friend who cared about
others. He could hold a conversation with an absolute stranger and end it with
a new found friend. I once listened to
Bobby call someone he had just met on line and talk to him for 90 minutes. He
had this incredible ability to make friends.
Bobby lived on line, in social media, and the web sites he would create
- World Peace News, Moon Base Galaxy, and others. In those places he developed a network of HUNDREDS
of friends across the globe. Within a
few hours of posting the news of his passing there were messages of condolences
from as far away as Alaska, California, Florida, England, and Norway. Some of
these people had never met Bobby in person - they just followed him on
line. He had a gentleness, sincerity,
and sense of humor that people loved.
Now, truth be told, Bobby’s mind was different than most of
ours.
Despite his health issues, Bobby never disparaged his
condition or showed anger or contempt for his situation. If anyone had a right to be bitter, it would
have been Bobby. I often wonder what kind
of life Bobby would have lived if his circumstances had been different, but Bobby
never wasted time on what might have been.
He always accepted where he was and made the most of it. When he got a job leading Jeep Tours in
Skagway, Alaska, he was hired over the phone, sight unseen. When he arrived in Skagway - and oh, by the
way, he drove from Tampa, Florida to Alaska - the company realized that he
wasn’t the very best fit to take tourists out on Jeep excursions. The next day he contacted me, excited, and
said, “Guess what, they put me in charge of washing and fueling the Jeeps!”
Bobby just didn’t accept his situation, he found the positive in it.
Of course, someone with a mind as wonderfully different as
most people’s wasn’t without a bump or two.
I tried to explain to people who didn’t know him that Bobby was a like a
twelve year old boy, except with 40 plus years of experience. He had an innocence of thought of a
pre-adolescent and the ability of a grown up to pull people into his world
without them knowing it. Now - this
wasn’t being mean or deceitful - it was just his reality. Bobby was always convinced that he was going
to come into a large sum of money. So he
would go on line and find these amazing million dollar homes and contact the
local relator explaining that he was ready to make a deal - but he would close
the call by saying, “please call my brother-in-law, Rich Brown, he handles all
of my finances. Here’s his number.”
Bobby had one true love in his life outside of his family -
and that was the state of Alaska. What
started as a wall mural and a magazine subscription in the 1980s grew into a
lifetime appreciation of Alaska. He
worked there a half a dozen times. After
speaking to his friends Andrew and Brittney in Skagway and looking at his
social media posts and his personal belongings - it is fair to say that some of
his best times were there. Proof that only the biggest state in union could fit
Bobby’s heart and mind.
He was thankful for his family. In his last few days he
told us he appreciated all that we did for him. He thanked his sister’s Linda
and Lisa for standing by his side this last month and a half. And told his mom,
Betty, what a good mother she was. We can all learn from that example of
sincerity and appreciation. And if there is one thing I can take away from his
time on earth it is that Bobby was unique.
In his uniqueness we were blessed to know Bob Blockus and the very best
parts of him makes us aspire to be better people.
Bobby always closed
his on line conversations by giving the peace sign, thumbs up, and a verbal “Cowabunga”.
In closing - in thinking of our lives without him - I will use his other
closing,
“oh dear.”
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