Bob and Bettie Richards Sept 2009

This is Bob and Bettie Richards at the Reunion Dinner 2009. I'm so glad Bob made the effort to come, it was Herculean for him as he was mid chemotherapy and I doubt he shared that with everyone. Bob and I were friends from at least the sixth grade on. He used to walk me home with Sam Thomas, we'd leave Sam at Circle Drive and proceed down Hood St, me stopping off at my house then he'd go on down and round the corner to Stanton. Back when we had gym class there was a big curtain separating the girls and boys sides. We often square danced and they would pull back that curtain letting the boys go ask the girls to dance. Bob always made a bee line to me, no matter how hard I tried to hide from him because I really wanted to dance with Jack Mitchon. But I always danced with Bob. I have no idea what year this was, I remember I liked Jack in 3rd grade so it could've been back then, I haven't a clue, my memory cells don't reach quite that far into the depths. Later on in junior high school I tried out for cheerleading and we had to do that running jump where you touch your toes to the back of your head...well I over shot and landed about four or five rows up in the bleachers right in Bob and Art Handshy's laps. I have no idea why but Ole Irv Smith gave the boys whacks for that...they saved me so I never did understand that. Somehow I was voted onto the cheerleading squad. I can't imagine why. I know that I was the captain of the squad and Tom was captain of the basketball team and for some reason we sat next to each other on the bench...love in bloom you know? Later on Bob defended me in high school when the football team would harass me about dating a Feitshans boy, it was Bob and Bill Martin who would save me then. And much later on when Tom and I married and lived full time in North Carolina it was Bob and Bettie where we would stay on the long trip home. They came to North Carolina to see us too.
Bob was so blessed to find Bettie, she is an absolute jewel and I know that he adored her.
I'm going to miss Bob...I know we've lost quite a few classmates, but this is one that really feels painful to me.