Bob Harrison, 1948-2020

As I sat at the breakfast table, sipping my morning’s coffee, I opened the Facebook app on my cellphone. My heart dropped and shattered at reading the post from his sister, that her brother Bobby had died. And while I ought to wait a couple of days to write this, I sorely need to get it out of me before I fall apart.

While I never met Bob Harrison personally, that’s to say so we could shake hands, I did know him through FB, becoming ‘friends’ shortly after he published the book, “Because of Annie,” in 2013. Therefore, it would be so easy to run the ‘stats’ of an ordinary obituary, like:

“Bob was born March 18, 1948 and passed away September 20, 2020. He graduated from Del Norte High School in 1966.

As a youth, Bob spent most of his time fishing the Smith and Klamath Rivers. He was an avid motorcycle racer, winning several hundred trophies, and picking up the high point trophy for the most wins in a year at the Oregon State Championships, Grants Pass in 1967.

Following high school graduation, Bob enlisted in the US Air Force in 1966, serving his country for 24 years. After retiring, to Wichita, Kansas, in 1991, he and his wife owned two successful antique stores. He is preceded in death by his wife Annie Elizabeth.”

But, like other friends, there is so much more…

Both of us being authors and from the same small county, Del Norte, in Northern California, he reached out to me and we immediately hit it off. Then I learned that his youngest sister, Terri and were of the same graduating class and that is younger brother, Tim had graduated a couple of years ahead of me.

Bob’s story was special to me (and many, many others) because he had suffered a great heart ache, followed by an even greater heartbreak. His wife, Annie passed away in 2010, after being diagnosed with blood cancer.

In his book, he described the agony, the grief and the recovery he’d discovered. And even after “Because of Annie,” was published, Bob continued to share himself with others as both a caregiver and as a writer. Here’s a link…

In early 2016, Bob was diagnosed with cancer. Prostate. He battled through it, even sharing the newer discoveries he’d made along the way, coming out both spiritually stronger and physically healthy.

Then early in 2020, Bob underwent surgery to repair a defective heart valve. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement. In his usual way, he wrote about the entirety of the operation, before, after, even maintaining his hallmark positivity.

Bob’s upbeat posts were one thing I looked forward to reading, not only because of what he had to say, but because of how he said it. He will always be an inspiration, not only as a writer, but as a damned fine human being. His FB bio sums him up best: “Life is about Love and Being Loved. There is no other option.”

Thank you, Bobby…and give Annie a kiss on the cheek for me, please.