Robert H. Crum

Robert Hayes Crum, a resident of Chalk Bluff area died Tuesday morning, April 23rd at Baylor, Scott & White Hospital in Waco, TX. He died from complications of renal and heart failure; his heart was simply too big for his chest.

Hayes was born in Raymond, Ohio on February 1, 1936, the second son of John Russel Crum and Florence Mae Bowersmith Crum. He faithfully attended the only Methodist Church in town as a boy, was a four-year varsity basketball champion and graduated from the Raymond High School where he met his future wife, Janet Sue Dickason. He served honorably as a medic in the post-WWII Army, spending most of his tour in Germany.

His family and friends will remember him for his big heart and, “family first”, doctrine. Hayes is survived by 4 children, 13 grand-children, 8 great-grand-children, relatives “back home”, friends from High School he stayed in touch with, neighbors he stayed close to, and a solid group of poker buddies. He would often remind his children that, “family….it’s all y’got!”, and marveled at the idea that just one couple, he and his wife, Sue, “started all this”.

In the end, summing a life richly lived, in a newspaper obit that few will read, falls well short of the honor and devotion he deserves. That, we will reserve for another time, another place. Sleep well, Daddy/Pops. We’re going to miss you terribly, until we see you again.