Memories of Robert Burrows The Walters family in Hollister remembers Bob: • Patriarch in his home. When Bob called the family together for their home teacher’s visit the children came from various places in that big old school house. In other settings it was obvious that the family responded to Bob as the head of his household (although we often wondered if Alberta was the ‘neck’ of the family – able to turn the head) Brother Walters always loved the children sitting nearby and paying close attention during home teaching visits and the fun, social time that typically followed. I appreciated how Bob and Alberta had raised their children to be respectful and attentive. • Projects: Bob and Alberta’s home always seemed to have a project room going. • Evolution of Ice Cream: We watched the ice cream evolution in Bob’s life. In the beginning Bob made “ice cream” with just about anything in it. Mike often remembers thinking “yuck” when Bob announced his current ice cream concoction. After his heart ailment Bob became the clarion voice to warn of all the ingredients that went into ice cream and, what each of those horrible ingredients did to our body. • Bob’s dress: Bob took the honors for the most layers of clothing on at one time. We remember he would wear a long underwear, dress shirt, sweater, vest and dress coat or, sometimes a ski parka. Bob never seemed worried about matching colors or designs. Bob would not rank very high on the G.Q. list of best dressed men. • Humor; He also ranked very high on the driest humor. Every once in a while we would catch a wry smile and even less often he would break into a full on smile where every muscle got involved – but only for a quick moment. His humor reflected his great intellect and we felt he was often “alone at the top” since most of us took a while to get the joke. Ron Darby, however, got Bob’s clever humor instantly. • Bob’s tinkering: Bob had eclectic gathering of the strangest things from time to time. We often thought of him as the nutty professor. • Teacher: At a youth conference the Hollister youth built and used handcarts during the conference journey. Bob played the part of an old pioneer. Each group would stop at Bob’s post and listen to his story. His post’s challenge was to have the youth cross a ravine on a rope bridge. While the kids attempted the difficult task Bob encouraged them. • Absent minded professor? When son Richard took our daughter Nicki to the Senior Prom all went well until the two couples ran out of gas. It seems that Bob or Alberta forgot to give Richard the gas cap key for the family car. It’s no wonder, they had a varied inventory of cars and it would have been a challenge to keep the keys organized by vehicle. • Socially, formal greetings: During all of the years I was privileged to be the Burrow’s home teacher, seminary teacher, youth leader, group leader and bishop Bob typically called me: “Brother Walters” and later “Bishop”. I don’t remember a time when he called me by my actual name. I respected his more formal greetings. • One of Bishop Walters’ most cherished lessons: Of all my experiences in life one of the most wonderful events resulted from of my relationship with Bob. As his bishop I learned, first hand and in a profound way, of the Lord’s tender mercy for His members and leaders. It was so wonderful to share this intimate experience with Bob and Alberta and keep this sacred experience precious to ourselves. • Kindness to Sister Walters: Bob was always thoughtful and very kind to Sister Walters and each of our children. He provided us with a father, grandfather, figure in-as-much-as none of our extended family lived nearby nor shared our same religious beliefs. • Funny Send Off: The last time Mike interacted with Bob and Alberta was during their move to Utah. I eventually learned that there was only ONE pile of stuff: EVERYTHING coming out of that old school house was valuable and HAD to be packed onto that truck. The Walters family has been influenced for good because of our valuable years of association with Bob Burrows. We are grateful that we moved to Hollister and were given the privilege of living near and loving Robert Harold Burrows for so many years. We pray for Alberta, all of the children, spouses, grandchildren and extended family members. May we all respond to our conscience and follow the promptings we receive that we may worthy of a glorious reunion in the Celestial Kingdom of our Father and Savior. Mike and Dawn Walters 341 Arroyo Seco Drive Hollister, Ca 95023 831/630-3717 Mike@CaHomes411.com