Robert Wayne MCCULLOUGH

Birth: Sep. 18, 1963
Elizabethtown
Hardin County
Kentucky, USA

Death: Oct. 20, 2004
Eagle Rock
Barry County
Missouri, USA [Edit Dates]

Robert is the husband of 'Chris' Christine Marie (Holenda) McCullough. They were married December 2, 1983 in Cassville, MO.
He is the son of Lonnie Eugene and Connie Sue (Buntin) McCullough Sr.
Robert is survived by his wife Chris, his parents and a younger twin brother, Lonnie Eugene McCullough Jr.
He is the father of April (McCullough) Chandler.
Robert was a self-employed Hunting and Fishing Guide.
He was killed early on a Wednesday morning while on his way to look for turkey sign.
Robert received his education in Cassville, MO., graduating from Cassville High School in 1981.

* * * * * *

Services were held Sunday at 1 P.M. at Fohn Funeral Services Williamson Chapel with the Rev. John Duncan officiating. Also speaking was Mark Jones.

Casket Bearers...
Tim Homesly, Ed Fink, Larry McCullough, Albert McCullough, Larry Wentz and Lee Shepherd.

Honorary Bearers...
Ty Brown, David Treat, Jack Lyons, Glen Robinson, Mike Ball, Loyd Eckley, Steve Cooper and Michael Stubblefield.

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I met Robert and Chris on October 3, 1988 at a mutual friends house. From that day forward they have been like family to me.
Robert would've given you the shirt off his back, he was a wonderfully giving person.
Each year he and Chris would volunteer at Roaring River on Kid's Day, to help the kids learn how to trout fish. He got such a kick out the little ones.
He also participated in the Center City Marine tournament for the Children's Miracle Network.
Robert was seldom still for long, always on the go and usually with a phone either in his hip pocket or to his ear talking to one friend or another going a mile a minute, both physically and verbaly.
Robert lived life to the fullest. He loved to hunt and fish. Whether he was guiding someone else or hunting and fishing for himself, he always knew the best stand to kill a deer or the best place to set up to find a big tom turkey.
One of his proudest moments was when he killed the big deer in the picture to the right. He couldn't wait for me to come up for a visit so he could show it to me. Every time someone would come for a visit he'd dig the poor thing out of the freezer, unwrap it and re-tell the story of the kill. I'm surprised it had any hair left on it by the time the taxidermist got time to mount it for him.
Robert was always up for a good time. One of his favorite sayings was, "Rip It!". And there's very little that he wouldn't try. He was always a wonderful source of fantastic amusement for me and Chris. We'd laugh at him 'til our sides hurt.
He told us a story one time of when he was in high school and was a pole vaulter... he was going along telling this story all serious about how he set up, took off in the paced run with the pole in his hands... and missed the slot that the pole went in. The pole stuck in the ground and slammed him down beside it. Chris and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. Neither of us, we later learned, knew that there was a 'slot' that the vaulter had to get the pole into to set it and send him flying into the air. The more Robert tried to explain this to us the harder we laughed. The visual of him going through this process, much less being a pole vaulter kept us breathless for a long time that evening.
Another time I was up spending the weekend with them and he'd decided to get out the leaf blower and vacuum up the leaves. Chris and I had been dinkin' in the yard hauling rocks most of the morning and decided to get us something cool to drink and relax for awhile.
Robert was working away sucking up the leaves from the flower beds then dumping them to be burned later. He made a few trips to empty the bag when we noticed that he was pretty much staying in one spot, just going round and round in circles. As we watched him it became apparent what the problem was... he'd forgotten to zip up the bag and the blower was just suckin' the leaves up and shootin' them out of the bag behind him. After we got his attention and got him all zipped up we all had a good laugh. The rest of the evening we teased him about being 'zipper impaired'.
He was always such a good sport about stuff like that, it never bothered him to get caught doing something goofy, he'd just grin his impish grin and say, "Oh, what the hell." And even if you didn't catch him doing something silly he'd end up telling something on himself that would keep me and Chris in stitches until we couldn't breathe.
On my first visit to Robert and Chris' house I met their babies. Three dogs and a cat. Tommy, the cat was blind but managed just fine as long as Chris didn't move the furniture around too much. The dogs were Andy, he was terrified of storms, Gizmo, Giz for short and Tazzy. Gizmo and Taz were Boston Terriers, more like Boston Terrors. I never saw such boundless energy in such little animals.
And Robert and Chris both loved these babies with all their hearts.
They later had five more 'terror' babies in the years after they lost Tommy and Andy.
One night I was up for the weekend with them and we were sitting out in their front yard down by the lake, just sitting around the chimenea with a big fire going, talking and enjoying the night. All of a sudden Robert said that we should all decide what songs we wanted played at our funerals. He was serious and there was no talking him out of it or putting it off 'til later so Chris went inside to get pen and paper and we made out our lists.
Years later, after Robert was killed, Chris still had that list in her wallet. A couple of nights before his funeral service Chris and I sat down and put all his songs off onto a CD. His choices were Amazing Grace, sung by Elvis, Seminole Wind by John Anderson, Old Hippie, Prop Me up by the Jukebox, A Country Boy and Comfortably Numb.
The song played at his graveside was The Dance sung by Garth Brooks. As I stood there looking at his casket, listening to that song and thinking back over all the great times the three of us'd had together, the words to that song really ran deep... I was hurting from losing a man that was like a brother to me, someone I knew I could trust with my life, someone I HAD trusted with my life, yea, I was hurting, it felt like my heart was being torn out of my chest... but for all that, I wouldn't have missed all those years of friendship with Robert to avoid the pain I was feeling standing there...
As that song rang out over the hills and echoed down to the lake I knew in my heart that the words to that song were so true... I might've miss the fire, but I would've missed the dance...

...and I wouldn't have missed the 'dance' of having Robert for my friend for anything...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...for you, Robert, loveyou...

The Dance
~by Garth Brooks

Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared 'neath the stars alone
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known
that you'd ever say goodbye

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end
the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

Holding you I held everything
For a moment wasn't I a king
But if I'd only known
how the king would fall
Hey who's to say you know
I might have chanced it all

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end
the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

Yes my life is better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
but I'd of had to miss the dance

...join Robert in a quick listen... The Dance.

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The Little Ship

I stood watching as the little ship sailed out to sea.
The setting sun tinted his white sails with a golden light and as he disappeared from sight a voice at my side whispered, "He is gone".

But the sea was a narrow one. On the farther shore a little band of friends had gathered to watch and wait in happy expectation. Suddenly they caught sight of the tiny sail and at the very moment when my companion had whispered, "He is gone" a glad shout went up in joyous welcome, "Here he comes!"

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article from a local Barry County paper.

MAN KILLED IN WRECK

A Cassville man was killed in a one-vehicle traffic accident yesterday a mile north of Eagle Rock on Curry Road in Barry County at 5 a.m.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol issued the following report:
Robert Wayne McCullough, 41, the driver, died in the accident.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by Barry County Coroner, Skip White. The body was taken to Williamson Funeral Home in Cassville.
The fatality occurred when the westbound McCullough vehicle ran off the right side of the road and over turned in Roaring River.
Investigating the accident was Trooper Greg Curnes.

Contributed on 2/27/13 by silver-b
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