By Staff
Four years ago my dad met a man in the dollar store, his favorite place to shop. Little did he know what this newly made friend would become to our family. Mr. Bob McIntyre was his name.
Bob visited my dad every day. He drove him to town to shop. He helped him with his housework.
Soon after Bob and Dad met, Dad got very sick. He was in the hospital in Brewton from Feb. 1, 2004, until March 22, 2004. Bob knew we needed someone to sit with Dad. My sister and I sat during the day until we both had to go back to our jobs. Bob sat with Dad every night for those six weeks, except for the few days he spent in intensive care. Bob never asked for a penny. He was an angel sent from God to my family. Even when we had to pay daytime sitters, Bob never expected any pay.
After my dad's stay in D.W. McMillan Hospital, he was transferred to Knollwood Hospital in Mobile to recuperate. Bob even followed the ambulance with us to transfer him.
Bob knew my sister and I could not check on Dad until the weekends because of our jobs. Bob drove to Mobile twice a week to pick up Dad's clothes to be washed and to check on him. He never expected anything in return. We could only give gas money once in a while. He took Dad's little dog to visit him one day as he went to Mobile.
On June 22, Bob drove my sister to Mobile. They brought Dad back to live at West Gate Village. Never did he expect anything in return.
After Dad came to West Gate Village, Bob visited him regularly. Bob even went with me to Greenville, where Dad had to visit a Senior Care Unit to have his medications adjusted. Bob visited West Gate and played dominoes with the guys down there, until his health got bad.
Bob's health got worse. He never let me know how he really was. He always felt that my plate was quite full enough with my dad, my job and my family. What can I say bout Bob McIntyre. He not only was an angel sent to my family, he drop people to doctor's appointments; he carried people to airports; he tutored children; he fed animals for people; he was a member of the R.S.V.P. Many times people took Bob the wrong way. He was a very outspoken man. We accepted the way he was and we loved him. He became a part of our family. Bob never made holidays special. He told me once that he gave of himself all the year, not just at Christmas. He truly was “a friend who loveth at all times.”
I just found out yesterday that Bob had passed away in early November. He spent a short time in the Atmore nursing home. Bob and I kept in contact every week until a few months ago.
I called and left messages on his answering machine and even drove by his house. He had wanted to go visit his son who lives in the Carolina's and I thought maybe that's where he was. No one called me about Bob, and if you knew Bob, you would know that he wanted to be no trouble to anyone. He had no one call me. I would surely have been there for him.
I've written this memorial to Bob because that's all I knew to do. People need to know what a kind and generous person Bob was.
As we ended any conversation we had, Bob would always say “until next time,” but never did he say “goodbye.”
Bob, I love you, and my family loves you