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The life and legacy of Bobby Joines
Joines obit pic
JOINES

 

One morning last week, I was over come with tears while I stood in Bobby Joines’ kitchen. As I put up the dishes from the breakfast Bobby had prepared for his wife, Mary, I was struck with the understanding of what a good man and a good husband truly is. I stood at the sink and felt the power of love that sourced through him in his every action and in his presence. Bobby was devoted- devoted to his wife, to his family, to his faith, and to his community. Bobby’s strength was in his vulnerability, in his willingness to laugh, his readiness to love, and his ability to share his tears, his sorrows, and what touched him. This isn’ t to say Bobby wasn’t a tough dude in a leather motorcycle vest, who drag raced and knew how to shoot. He was. But I believe it was his willingness to share his tender heart, that was a testament to his courage and bravery.

 

Bobby was born at Lebanon Hospital in 1944 to parents Robert and Johnnie Joines, whom he absolutely adored. Bobby lived all his life in the beautiful and beloved Dry Creek Valley. His family sharecropped up in the Vickers Hollow, lived briefly up Wilder Hollow and moved to Frazier Hollow in the late 1940’s where his family, and grandparents Grandmother Mattie and Grandpa Acie Joines saved to buy a farm. Bobby never strayed from Frazier Hollow. It is where him and his wife Mary raised their daughter Tammy, and it is where Tammy herself married her husband Mike Crook. It where the two of them raised their children Alicia and Jordan, and where Alicia married and settled with her husband Robbie Maxwell. If you’ve ever traveled up Frazier Hollow, this family’s history is is so present you can feel it on the breeze, you can see their devotion to each other coming down the branch and out the spring fed cave, their love and laughter holding like rock and ore in the hills. As sure as Bobby’s grandpa Acie fed him "two tops", Bobby would have his grandson Jordan’s Mac and Cheese ready when he got off the school bus- about quarter of three.

 

Bobby had a good family and good childhood. His family farmed, growing corn along the hillside, milking cows, raising goats, and sheering sheep and worked at the shirt factory as well. Bobby would call and milk the cattle; he had his own pet lamb who followed him everywhere. He hunted squirrels and enjoyed frying greasy young groundhogs. Once when hunting he found a den of black wolf pups- one if which he took, raised and named "Jackie", and tried to hide from his family- but couldn’t keep hid for long! Bobby and his buddies rode in a green paddle truck to the Dry Creek school. He ran around with Ronnie and Judy Frazier, Jimmy Womack, and Kenny Edge- to name a few. Although good hearted, and very affectionate, one can’t say that Bobby didn’t have a mischievous streak. He recalled sneaking off from the teacher with friends and crossing the foot log to meet the peddler to buy candy kisses at a penny a piece. Not to mention setting a school bus seat on fire with a certain friend- I might should not disclose. Bobby learned from his Daddy, Robert, how to drive fast. In fact he liked to drag race- and the boys would right there on Snow Hill! Bobby was a member of the FFA and attended Liberty High School where he proudly graduated in 1962 and proudly attended his 50th High school reunion in 2012.

 

Fate had great intentions for Bobby when he attended a tent skate at a roller rink at Center Hill Lake one night. The best skater on the floor was a pretty long legged girl from Sparta- Bobby was smitten! But he couldn’t seem to catch her attention. So he walked (without skates on) to the middle of the rink to try to talk with her. "Hey! Hey!" he called. The police wouldn’t have it, as it was a rule to wear skates on the rink, and they escorted him off the floor. Bobby’s antics worked and Mary Hutson approached him later that evening and invited him to her friends birthday party. The two were crazy about each other- and have remained so to this day. Bobby’s devotion and attention to his adoring wife never wavered. Bobby and Mary each cared for their mothers as they grew old in their homes up Frazier Hollow. Not long after each of their mother’s passed away a tragic accident struck the Joines family. The couple was in a car crash in 2008 and Mary subsequently had a stroke. Bobby took the hand dealt to him and played the cards beautifully. He learned to cook from Mary as she laid in the bed and explained to him what to do. Bobby not only learned to cook, but he learned to cook very well. Although the couple weren’t able to travel as they had dreamed- they continued to enjoy life- to laugh, cut up and nurture their home and their family.

 

The care they gave their family is evident in the care they have received from them. An only child, Tammy looked after her parents with the grace and steadiness of a dozen daughters, seeing to them every morning, evening and weekend. Like clock work Alicia called her Pa every afternoon. I was personally blessed to be driving past the church house one day when Jordan was carrying Bobby on the back of his four wheeler. The fun those two had blew my heart wide open. From watching TV together to sharing their family history to messing with four wheelers- Like and Andy and Opie, Jordan was Bobby’s right hand man, and vice versa. Jordan, Bobby, and I were gathered in Mary’s room one evening when he shared with us this telling story.

 

One night when coming home from Sparta, Bobby came across a vehicle on fire with a woman inside of it. What would he do? Up drove Sparta resident and famous guitar picker Lester Flatt. Thinking quickly Lester pulled quilts out from his car and sent his wife on to get help while Bobby and Mr Flatt braved the flames, pulled the woman the car and saved her life. Bobby shared this story without the air of being a hero- but Lester Flatt came up in conversation and he mentioned casually that he had met him once. This was Bobby- he was not proud and he did not put himself above others- he was humble and one of the community. It was probably these traits that made him the good boss that he was, for years Bobby ran and was plant manager of the shirt factory up here in Smithville. From high school on, Bobby worked at the shirt factory, like his parents. With dedication and perseverance Bobby worked himself up to the top. Mary kept his shirts pressed while Bobby travelled all the time- to places like Maine and New York to meet with shirt buyers like LL Bean. He might be one the most beloved bosses in the history of DeKalb county, as those who worked for him were so proud to do so. It is also important to say that Bobby was county commissioner for twelve years, and even when he couldn’t run anymore, he still received enough votes to win.

 

A life long member of Dry Creek Baptist church, Bobby was called by Bro Donald Owens to speak one night about the power of prayer. As humble as Bobby was, he knew that he was well loved and felt it profoundly. He was inundated with meals (carried several times a week), cards, and calls after he was diagnosed with cancer. Even more so, he was deeply affected by the power of his community’s prayer. It moved him, and he allowed himself to be moved. These prayers gave him the strength that he had the last two years of his life- the strength to tally forth, to strength to live, to the strength to feel endless gratitude, the strength to laugh, and the strength to share, give and feel love, and the strength to take his journey home.

 

In the last weeks of his life, Bobby and I spoke a lot of his Grandfather Acie. Although he never drove a day in his life- like Bobby he had millions of friends and liked to talk to people, laugh and and cut up. And like Jordan carrying his Pa Man on the back of his four wheeler- Bobby enjoyed carrying his Grandpa in his car and taking him for a ride. When Acie passed away, they held the funeral at his home up Frazier Hollow. Cars lined around the hill, parked all the way to the bridge on Dry Creek. Bobby’s legacy will live on in the hearts of the many he has touched, in our celebration of the beautiful Dry Creek Valley, and in the way he has inspired us- to be willing to laugh and ready to love.