Sunlight dapples Robert “Bob” Roberts’ back as he jerks left, right, backwards and forwards, guiding his commercial-sized lawn mower over another strip of grass. His flannel overcoat is covered in grass clippings and his brow is dripping sweat. At 81 years old, Bob mows more than 30 lawns a week.
“If I didn’t mow, I’d probably sit down and die,” he says.
He has lived his life by the words his father taught him: “If you want anything out of life, you have to work for it.”
Bob has labored as an insurance salesman, a truck driver and a manager with General Electric, but his work ethic doesn’t stop with employment.
The lawn care specialist grew up in a family of eight during the Great Depression. He learned the value of family and friends when he was in need. Bob has married three times, become a widower and divorced twice. From the remnants of his second marriage arose a strong bond with his wife’s daughter, Misty, from a previous marriage. Down the road, Misty married Bob’s grandson, Richard House, and had his “greatest prides-and-joys,” his two great-granddaughters, Gwendolyn and Alexis.
Bob lives his life as an example for his great-granddaughters. “I love everyone. I may not love everything they do, but I love them, kind of like Jesus,” he says.
Bob plans to retire after his 100th birthday, but he is prepared if the Lord calls him home before then.
