Reverend Kurt Walker
Roxanne, Dale, David, the rest of Bob's family and dear friends. We are here this afternoon to remember and celebrate the life of Bob Baumann. I first met Bob when he was an Elder on the Session, the governing council, of Kettle Moraine Presbyterian. He and Roxanne had become involved in helping with one of the committees of the session, Personnel, and being the newly called Pastor at that time, Bob was very focused on getting things organized for me. He wanted to make sure I had a job description that adequately described all that I did and was called to do as a pastor.
All business... or so I thought...until I visited the basement of Bob and Rox's home and discovered the world of Blender Bob's...complete with awards from his riding expeditions on his Harley, fishing, and sheepshead. Awards included the Iron Butt award. 1000 miles on a motorcycle in 24 hours Wow! I also found out that both he and Rox were cat lovers, meeting Mighty Moose the cat. And when Moose passed on they eventually wound up with two more fur balls, Gizmo and Opus. I began seeing a pattern here. They were animal lovers...HOGS and Harleys, cats and fish and....Flamingos? More about that in a moment.
During a visit with Bob in the hospital several weeks ago, I had to ask him how he got the Blender Bob handle. Seems he had a battery operated blender that he would carry around on the back of his bike and when the riding was over for the day, he would take mixed drink requests. I asked him what happen if the batteries went dead and I think he told me he always had a couple so while he was mixing with one, the other was charging. Now we could go on and on about he and Roxanne's riding exploits, but there was so much more to Bob as you all know. Yes, Harley rider, fisherman, card player but importantly, Elder in the church, Father, Grandfather, Uncle and companion and husband to Roxanne for 36 years. And, oh my, what a time those 36 years were! filled with fun and laughter! Bob always enjoyed a good joke, but one of the biggest jokes was a running one between the two of them and some next door neighbors from years ago. Seems it all started with the "Battle of the Flamingos" Bob had gotten the idea to put some pink flamingos in his yard. That started a series of good natured gags which included them dressing up as two Flamingos, feathers and all. But the crown jewel of the flamingo feud may have been the appearance of the infamous eight foot pink flamingo. This was so incredible, they made it on the pages of the local paper, the Waukesha Freeman, with a reporter interviewing both he and Roxanne about the spectacle. The flamingo actually wound of on the roof!
Yes, there were fun times and tough times for Bob and Roxanne and their family, but through it all, there was and will always continue to be, their love. Roxanne was telling me about the sermon that was preached during their marriage at Southminster Presbyterain Church by Rev. Nelson. In it, he referred to the different types of love mentioned in the Bible...
Eros - the love between a man and a women.
Song of Solomon 1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth – for your love is more delightful than wine. (NIV)
Phillia, brotherly love, where Christians are frequently exhorted to love their fellow Christians "Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:10 ESV)
Storge is family love, the bond among mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. Storge is the natural love and affection of a parent for their child. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12, NIV)
Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible. Agape perfectly describes the kind of love Jesus Christ has for his Father and for his followers.
Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. (John 14:21, NIV) Love goes on. Death may end this physical existence we have on this earth, but it can never end the love shared during a life time and the eternal love that God has for us.
The Bible tells us in Romans 35: 37-39 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Yes, love goes on, love rolls on. Roll on, Bob, Roll on and Blend one for us. You will be missed.