Robert Bob or Hoss Payton Bivins Jr.

OCTOBER 11, 1946 – JUNE 11, 2010

Bob was born on October 11th, 1946, to Robert and Dorothy (McCown) Bivins, in Bakersfield, California. He spent his childhood moving with his family back and forth between California and Oklahoma, with stays in Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. He was drafted into the U. S. Army in 1966, from which he received a medical discharge. Bob always thought it was ironic that he had experience working on a variety of heavy machinery, but, the army saw fit to send him to cooking school. Apparently, the thing he really learned there was "the five second rule".

After his discharge from the army, Bob worked mainly as a farm hand, mostly in Kern County, California, until he started watching the crews on nearby drilling rigs. He decided they had to be making more money than he was, because they got a lot dirtier than he did. So, he started pestering people on the rigs until he got his first job as a "worm". (For anyone not aware of this term, it means a hand with little or no experience, who is given the worst and dirtiest jobs on the rig.) This was the beginning of a forty-three year career in the oil patch.

Bob really enjoyed working in the oilfield, and worked his way up to drilling superintendent. He liked most of the positions, but, the one he really loved was "tool pusher". It was a blast for him to show "his guys" the best way to do things. In fact, when he was coming out of the anesthesia after major surgery, he demanded a piece of paper and pen. After he scribbled a bunch of straight line on the paper, he handed it to his wife, saying, "Here, give this to my guys! They'll know what to do!"

Bob met his wife, Connie, in Sterling, Colorado, and they were married in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1984. That was the beginning of a great, wonderful, joyous adventure that lasted only twenty-six years. They followed the work in the oilfield, with various employers, and lived in Colorado, Oklahoma, California, Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming, and finally back to Colorado. He loved living in Grand Junction. His wish to live here for the rest of his life came true.

One of the few things that bothered Bob a lot was how someone would only say good things about a person after they died. He often said, "She didn't even like him, and now she talks about him like he was a saint." Well, anyone who knew Bob knew that he was not a saint; he didn't even come close. However, he did have good qualities that made him many friends every place he went.

An amazing quality that Bob had was that he almost never felt any anger or bitterness about circumstances beyond his control. He did not resent growing up in conditions that many would consider very hard. He just believed that if he worked hard he could earn anything that he really wanted. He was proud of his final place in life, because he knew that it was due to his very hard work and his very special personality. He almost always looked only on the bright side of things.

Another good quality was how Bob lived life to the fullest every day. He also had a generous spirit, and was willing to share almost anything with almost anyone. He would give things away to friends, and then later wonder why he couldn't find them. Sometimes, he'd even think someone must have stolen whatever he was looking for. When he finally remembered that he had given it away, he would just laugh. It really made him happy to share his oilfield knowledge with newer workers.

Bob wanted everyone to enjoy live as much as he did. He had a silly sense of humor, and was never afraid to laugh at himself. He would share a funny story, even if it was at his expense, just to make someone laugh. If a friend was sad, he always tried to cheer him or her up. His sense of playfulness was contagious. He was young at heart, and often made other feel that way, too. One of the things he got teased about was how he told Connie, when he first met her, that he didn't like cats. Then, he felt left out when Connie had a cat and he didn't. He picked out his first cat, which lived with him for over twenty years. He rescued his second cat because, "she pulled his paw in to rub her chin", when he was checking out the animal shelter in Casper, Wyoming. He was very proud of saving her life, even though he didn't like cats.

Bob loved his motorcycle. He loved going on rides with friends or riding by himself. When he lost control of his bike and rolled it, just this past May, he thought he was going to die then. He said that his first thoughts, as he and the bike were rolling, separately, down the highway, were, "Man, I've lived a really great live. All of my dreams have come true and it's even better than I ever dreamed."

Bob is survived by his wife, Connie; his sisters, Dorothy (Tommy) Boyd, Jackie (Don) Myers, Betty (Don) Green, and Patricia Bivins; Three sons, Robert, Walter and Gary; three daughters, Carol (Sean) Hines, Jennifer (Richard) Aday, and Leslie Carter; stepson Gene (Sheryl) Cure; numerous grand-children, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and other extended family. He will be missed by many folks, and especially by Connie and his cat, Missy.

Published by dignity memorial.com

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