Being born into the Great Depression, they knew nothing but hard work and happy times. With the country being under such a great depression, he was earning 25 cents a day at the age of 9. His mom was becoming a school teacher and his father was unemployed for a little while due to the great depression but he later became a blacksmith. By the time he was born, his mother was a school teacher. Due to his parents' jobs, they moved several times before he was an adult.
In June of 1947, on his 17th birthday, Robert started dating a girl, Thelma Carol Miller, who ended up being the love of his life. Soon after the summer ended in 1947, Robert and his friend Rodney ran away from home and ended up 550 miles away in Gila Bend AZ. The one way trip took them several weeks by foot. On their way back, they were greeted by a kind gentleman who paid for 2 bus tickets for them to finish their "adventure", which was about 300 miles more. On November 12, 1947, he joined the Navy. Soon after, he got his and her name tattooed in a heart on his arm. During a 2-week leave, in July of 1950, he got married to "Carol" Miller.
After 3 years, 10 months and 11 days, he was honorably discharged from the US Navy. About 1 year after his discharge, she gave birth to their first child, Marcia. After the navy, he worked on powerlines. Due to his job, he had to travel alot. For some time, him and his family lived in city near central Utah called Provo. There they had their second child, Janet.
In 1969, they moved to Salina Utah and finally got a baby boy, who they named Robert Gerald. They've lived in the exact same house for 41 years.
In the mid 90's, they started vacationing in Ajo, which eventually led to my family living here. In January of 2005, Carol passed away. To this day, Robert still comes to Ajo occassionally. In May of 2011, Robert fell and while trying to regain his balance, broke his right hand.
Special Note: My favorite memory of him: When we were little, my grandpa would hold us on his lap and sing this little poem to us and we would fall happily asleep: "A bare footed girl with boots on, came a' shufflin' down the street. Her pants were full of pockets and her boots were full of feet. Born when she was a baby, her grandpa's pride and joy, her only sister was a girl and her brother was a boy." Also, he is very patriotic and his favorite colors are red white and blue.
*Please note: If there are any errors(mispelled names, etc.), please correct.
By BreaAnna Gates
Jul 25, 2011 3:45pm Janet said \"I love it!\"
Jul 12, 2011 12:27pm yo mama said this is actually really good brea it tells alot about grandpa and the family
Jul 12, 2011 12:24pm brea said :)