RIP Bobby Boatright

Buddie Hrabal · From: Arlington,Texas USA

Fiddle great Bobby Boatright passed away Sunday, Dec 28. Family Visitation at Blessing Funeral Home in Mansfield,Texas. 817-473-1555. Graveside services will be Tuesday at 10AM at Mansfield Cemetery. To read Bobby's Obituary go to www.star-telegram.com/obituaries. I had the pleasure of playing steel with Bobby and the guys many times and they were all very special. Rest in Peace my friend.

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Sad day, yesterday.

Bobby was one of the good ones... he wore a white hat, if you know what I mean. Bobby gave me my first Joaquin Murphey tape in the mid-70's. Thanks, big guy. Prayers are with you and your family.

Dave Grothusen · From: Scott City, Ks

Yep, a white hat a personality to match. Another great one that will be missed.

john buffington · From: Owasso OK - USA

I had the pleasure of working a show with Bobby Boatright 2 years ago - one of my fondest memories of him. A true gentlemen in every way.
Yet, another legend has left us. Sad

John Buffington

Lonnie Portwood · From: Jacksonville, fl. USA

I'm so sorry to hear this, and strangely was thinking of calling Bobby to see how He was doing. I met Him in 2001, in snyder and He sent me copies of the radio transcripts of the Red Foley show from the fifties. We booked the Playboys with Bobby here in Fl., in 2003 or 2004 and again in 2006. He was a very unassuming, humble, and classy man. We will surely miss Bobby and His great music. Lonnie P.
_________________
Music is probably the most "spiritual of mankinds emotions, and when practised with a pure heart, can lead one into the presence of God, who invented it. Lonnie Portwood

Mike Gross · From: Manchester, Connecticut, USA

Bob Wills might have one more fiddle player in Heaven but we lost both a great musician and a wonderful human being. He suffered too much over the past couple of years; it just wasn't right!

Susan and I send out all of our deepest and most peaceful thoughts to Bobby's entire family.
_________________
Mike

Bobby Caldwell · From: St. Louis, Missouri, USA * R.I.P.

So sorry to hear of the passing of Bobby. What a great talent and nice guy. I worked a few shows with him when I played with the playboys. What great music these pepople played. Rest in peace Bobby, Bobby

Rob Parker · From: Paducah, Kentucky, R.I.P.

PARKER

From:
Paducah,Kentucky,USA Posted 28 Dec 2008 11:08 pm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is indeed very sad news.
Mr Bobby has been a good friend for over 35 years.He was a favorite entertainer of so many people over the years.
I shall miss him..his music,his humor, and his friendship.
Rest in eternal peace dear friend.The storms have passed.
My thoughts and prayers to his family, and family of friends.
RP...'come on in'...

James Pennebaker · From: Mt. Juliet, TN

Terribly sad news. One of my heros whom I had the honor to share many a bandstand with. I still have his old 65 Twin Reverb. I will especially cherish it now. That Western Swing Band in the the sky just got better.

JP

Louie Hallford · From: denison tx

Can the first grade at Golden Rule School, and living in "The Cotton Mill", considered by many to be the wrong side of the track, on the south side of Denison Tx, in the 40's and 50's, have been such a short time ago? What about the St Louis Cardinals and Stan Musial? Oh Yes and your grade school band the JR Rangers

Well the old cotton mill burned to the ground decades ago and is about forgotten.Dad, Art and Mom,Myrtle Boatwright have been gone a few years and too soon Bobby you have left us. The only difference You and the Boatwright Family will not be forgotten because of the legacy you left.

Linda and Family,Brother Johnny,and the two sisters, may God comfort and strengthen you during this time of loss and in the future. (Sorry to have forgotten some names.)

robert hays · From: sikeston mo. usa

Perhaps some of you have not seen this,And I thought since it is such a great tribute to Bobby by his brother that you might like to read it I thought it was great ! It was sent to me by Bill Anderson (Cousin Carl) of KWKZ 1061 Cape Girardeau Mo.
Robert Hays
----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Dolle
To: cuz@kwkz.com
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 9:01 PM
Subject: Fw: A brother's tribute

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Rhonda Craig <rhondacraig>
To: Undisclosed-Recipient@yahoo.com
Sent: Sunday, January 4, 2009 10:26:08 PM
Subject: A brother's tribute

Hi friends,
We have been gone for several days and am just now reading my email.
Many of you have already seen this moving tribute that Johnny Boatright wrote to thank all the friends for their support....but just in case you have not .....I am sending it on. It is so beautiful. What a family.
Love to all...the messenger....Rhonda

Dearest friends and loved ones;

I wanted to take just a moment to thank as many of you as I can for the deep,
honest love and respect you have shown to my brother, Bobby. As each of us in
our family attempt the impossible task of moving on, I would be remise
should I not express our profound gratitude to each of you.

It seems an ill use of the word Gratifying, but nonetheless it is how we
felt when we witnessed the many, many people there to pay honor and respect to
Bobby on Monday night and again at his graveside on Tuesday morning. With less
than a 24 hour notice, there were over 300 friends and loved ones that came to
be by his side. Don't get me wrong, who he was, what he stood for and how he
longed to teach and encourage, were characteristics that were long known to us in the family. We just did not fully know or perhaps understand how many people had been touched by his life until this tragedy unfolded.

This past September, Bobby and Linda were told that his Leukemia had returned
and that unlike his first battle two and a half years ago, the latest rounds of
Chemo had been ineffective. Knowing that he was terminal, he chose that both he
and Linda would keep it to themselves for as long as they could. My sisters and
I found out on December 15th and the following day Linda informed their
daughters, Sherri and Laura, that the end of Bobby's life was eminent. Until
that day, please know that Linda carried the heaviest of weights in her heart
and had absolutely no one to share them with, lest she betray Bobby's wishes¦
.something she was unwilling to do. Instead, she chose to be at his side 24/7
and take complete care of him as best she could and carry out his slightest
wish.

At graveside, our dear family friend, Judge Horace Allen Groff, paid homage to not only my brother, but to his life long friend, someone he was tied to from
their childhood. Please know that this was a daunting task for someone that
loved Bobby so dearly. We can assure you that the love, respect and friendship
they had for each other was always very much reciprocated. Horace was not only
the perfect choice for the eulogy, but the only person I can think of that could
have painted such an honest, complete and beautiful portrait of Bobby. Horace
brought us to laughter as Bobby would have wanted. Then, he brought us to
tears, which would have embarrassed Bobby to no end. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. .Horace grabbed the emotions of those both weak and strong....and helped each of us see each brushstroke of Bobby's life. Though
God alone decides when the painting is finished, those of us left behind can
still see and remember the finished work.

For this Horace, I am eternally grateful.

My brother's wish that none of us be sad or crying over him was and remains to
be unattainable. He was yet just another human being that God placed on this
earth. But for whatever reason, God needed him to stand taller than most and in so doing, to endeavor to be the best person that he could be. And though this
was taught by example every day in our home, what sets Bobby apart from many,
but not all, is the fact that he not only chose to wear this mantle, but took it
up with the clear understanding that to do anything less was to be incomplete.
You see, this mantle was visibly worn each day by our daddy and his daddy before
him. Funny thing is, though you wish for your so ns to pick it up, the yoke
cannot be forced...it must be chosen. But once set in place, you can never set
it down yourself and feel whole again. Until his death at the age of 91, daddy
was still playing music with his friends and teaching music or math to anyone
that would stand still. He only paused long enough to watch his beloved
Cardinals play baseball. His life too was as rich and abundant with friends and
people touched by his honest endeavor to teach and encourage. As you can
imagine, having both daddy and Bobby in one family created a very, very bright
light which to follow. Their examples are abundant.

We were taught by example, positive thinking. We were taught by example that
you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. We were taught by example to
help others in need. We were taught by example that you must never be rude nor
tolerate it in others. We were taught by example to teach and pass on the
things that you have learned to those in want. And most importantly, we were
taught by example the overwhelming power of the love of family.

Please forgive me for going on and on, but I guess composing this letter has in
no small way been cathartic. You see, it is my wish that I do any and every
thing I can to describe him in ways that you might not have seen or understood.
Perhaps there are even those who might read this that were just recipients of
his kindness or encouragement, thinking to themselves what a nice guy.
Though they would most certainly be correct, I just felt compelled to share with them just where he came from and what made him the way he was.

With that said, I cannot however, put into words just what it has meant to be
his little brother and watch in admiration his quiet ways, always in the
background, always consistent, always in character...

There are so many more who would have come to his side had they known in time or their schedules permitted. To those I say this... He now knows you would have
been there if you could, so please be at peace.

Though the list I am sure would seem never ending, I truly wish that I had the
e-mail or physical address of each and every one of Bobby's friends. However,
I'm afraid I only have a few addresses in which to send this message. With
that said, I encourage each of you to pass along this love letter to any and
every one of Bobby's friends that you wish. I would be much obliged.

He was tall and strong of character and lived his life as did our daddy and his
daddy before him.

Examples for each of us are everywhere...

In loving memory of my dear brother, Bobby Boatwright.

Johnny

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