Dear Delores and family,

Our love, thoughts and prayers are with you all at this sad time.

Darryl & Diann Bandy

My thoughts and prayers are with your family during this very difficult time.  God bless you all.

To all of the Hartsell Family, our thoughts and prayers are with you during this time. Have not seen any of you in a long time but have thought of you often.  "Dum" and Ruby

We are so very sorry to hear about Bobby. We enjoyed all those years ago at Bethel when Dad was the pastor.  He'll be missed by so many people.  Know that we'll be keeping you in our hearts and prayers.

Our deepest sympathy is with the Hartsell family at this time. We will miss Bobby not only in business but as our friend...Dan, Donald and Ronald Porter.

My sincere sympathies to the family and friends experiencing the loss of such a wonderful person. May you find comfort in the beauty of his life and legacy.

Renae and family, I am so sorry for your loss. May God's love comfort and surround you as you go through this difficult time. Love to all. Michele Smith

My thoughts and prayers goes to the Hartsell family.  May our heavenly father grant peace and comfort to you at this time of sadness. (2Cor.1:2-4)

Delores,

I am sorry to hear of your loss.  Bobby and I were friends for many years.  He will be sorely missed

Ann...Debbie and I are praying for you and all of your family. I found John Ray's tribute...No one could ever leave a greater legacy than Bobby has. We did not know him on earth, but we are looking forward to meeting him in Heaven someday.  We love you so.  To all the family, may Jesus comfort you, and give you strength and peace during this difficult time.

I'm very sorry for your loss he was a very good man and he will be missed.

My Deepest Sympathy to the Friends and Family of Mr. Hartsell. Your All in My Thoughts and Prayers !

Very sorry for your loss, he was a wonderful man and a good friend.

To Renae, Billy,& Family; I am sad that your journey with your dad has been shortened here on earth, hopefully you will be joined again in heaven.  Be joyful in the memories you make with your  children in this life. Thank God for his love every day.      Starr(Garmon)Hovis -Charlotte

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss, I will always remember Bobby for selling me my first horse, always smiling and making jokes, I am sure he will be very missed by you all!

To all of the Hartsell Family, my heartfelt sympathy goes out to each and everyone of you. I ask for God's grace and mercy to be with you as you go through these trying times. I know you are heartbroken over the loss of Bobby as your father, as your husband, many members of you great famiy and to many friends.

I know our daughters Kim, Jett and Wyndi loves Bobby as a special uncle. I know they will greatly miss him also. He was a wonderful brother in law to me.

I pray for God to wrap his loving arms around you, leaving you with the greatest of memories of how much you daddy did love you. and how he lived his dash, the mark between his birthday date and the death date that did matter most. The seeds he planted and the legacy he left behind his great example of mankind.

Renae, and Michelle, and Dee, along with the rest of the family,
We are so sorry to hear of your loss.  While we did not know Bobby personally, we have heard so much of him through Renae, and know this was a wonderful man that loved and was devoted to his family with everything he had.  We know he will be tremendously missed.  May your memories be of comfort to you all. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.  Renae, please let us know what we can do to help.
Our love to all,
Alison and Joe Barrocas

I met Bobby in 1988 and felt like I had known him my whole life. We have completed many jobs together and I will miss him. My sympathy to the Hartsell family.

It is truly a sad day for me. To learn that a "Father" in my life has passed on, leaves me selfishly wanting more time with him.

The Hartsell family, for many years, was my family. 

While I was richly blessed with the greatest "Daddy" a man could ask for, Bobby filled many "Father" gaps in my life. 

My relationship with my Daddy was wonderful and tender, while my relationship with my "Father Bobby" was one of deepest admiration. I often found myself wondering if Bobby would be proud of me or if he would be impressed with some accomplishment of mine. At times, almost as if he was looking over my shoulder. As with any good Father, Bobby always extended the warmest and most supportive affirmation a young boy could ever want.

To list the many things Bobby Hartsell meant to me, would be utterly impossible. I do not think he knew, how much I loved and admired him. We enjoyed a mutual respect and father-son love that allowed me a great and intimate privilege of sharing personal things with him and he with me. We could go from sharing a funny joke, to sharing tears...in a single heartbeat. For that honor, I thank my Lord, Jesus Christ. 

I first met Bobby, when I was 15 years old. I thought I knew just about everything, about everything. Bobby had a way of reminding me that I had a lot to learn, but doing so, simply by "teaching me". He never, a single time, in the 35 years I knew him, disrespected me or made me feel, small. Like any wonderful hero, he allowed me to fail, even miserably at times, but not to a point of ruin. He knew when to step-in and hold out that huge, mammoth hand and gently guide me. For those close enough to him, you know what I mean. For those not, you missed one of the greatest things about Bobby Hartsell.

When I finished building my first Hot Rod, I drove straight to Bobby's house. I pulled up in his nice driveway and as with most new engines, it overheated.
I went to show off my new toy, to the man I respected more than almost anyone else, and there it was….boiling over in his driveway. Bobby with godly wisdom, kindly ignored it and went on to brag about how good it looked and sounded. He was a true friend and understood firsthand what it took to build a car. When I felt like I missed the mark, he was there to encourage me…and I appreciated it.

I borrowed Bobby's Cutlass to go to the prom, I totally wrecked his little black Toyota, I traveled with Bobby, I went to church with Bobby, I fished with Bobby, I skied with Bobby, I ate many-many-many meals with Bobby, I cried with Bobby...I grew up with his children, as if they were my brothers and sisters. His family, was my family. Their father, was my father. I appreciate that, more than Bobby probably knew.

I remember when Bobby came to watch me play softball at Hornets Nest Park. It was a single game, only one…but it was indeed an honor to hear him cheer for me. He sat in the stands, beside my daddy…both daddy and father supporting a young man….in a game much more dynamic than the game of softball. I appreciated him coming, knowing that he really wasn't interested in the game…but that he came, because he loved me. I can hear his cheer at times, when I want to quit.

Together we worked on go carts, tractors, cars, lawn mowers, and just about anything with a motor. He was a much better mechanic than most people realized…better than me for sure. He had a way of figuring things out….a way of figuring people out. This too is something any young man admires in a father.

I saw Bobby spend a small fortune on patching up little dogs, for only one reason…for his family. He was a country boy and had a fair perspective on animal life, but he was surrounded by ladies with hearts for animals. He and I would joke and laugh, but between you and me, I think he loved those little dogs as much, or maybe more than anyone else. 
(Sorry Bobby, you didn't fool me...or anyone else)

Bobby was competitive. Whether he was racing or fishing. Like any real man, he did not like to lose. His testosterone…was out of the roof! He was a man's man...even when he wore pink.

When he bought his 1st farm in Clover, he and I tried to trap "what we thought to be a bull" for about an hour. This huge animal would chase and stomp
at us and we were scared to death. Bobby decided….a bit deceitfully I might add….that I would be the bait since I could run fastest. (Thanks Bobby) So I would go and taunt the beast and Bobby would try to trap him when it chased me….well, I am ashamed to admit that neither of us realized it was not a bull after all….however, the scars and bruises we had (mainly me) made us appear like we had been at war. Of all the memories, this one we shared each time we saw each other. He would laugh that deep laugh and his blue eyes would sparkle and bounce. He would drop his head and shake his head, like he did when he just could't believe something...you know what I mean.

He was a simple man, yet a complex man. His mind was typically about 3 miles ahead of me. He had an uncommon ability, to know things. Again, if you knew him, you know what I mean. There was no need to lie to him…he normally knew the truth…yet he often allowed you to think you had him fooled. He made most men, feel tiny when they stood beside him. It wasn't intentional, but natural. It wasn't misused, but again natural.

It hurt me, to think of ever disappointing him. It was not a matter of his judgement or reaction, but a sense of breaking a code of integrity and covenant with a father.

Bobby was a helper and a silent servant. When our business burned many years ago, it was Bobby's face that I first saw. I will never forget him. He came out of nowhere...in perfect timing...and checked on me. He went back to his shop and returned with a large truck to move our equipment. He also gave me $400….and to a 20 something young man, that had just lost his business, it seemed like all the money in the world. He would not accept any chit-chat about it. It was not a matter of saying yes…it wasn't optional. My father had spoken. That truck and money was a great encouragement to me...not because of how it was used, but because I knew someone, my father, was behind me and standing with me. 

He disappeared through the smoke that day, but his presence remained throughout the painful process. I am thankful, that despite the fact that he has now passed through the vapor of this life, that his impact on and legacy left in my life, boldly remains.

Bobby did not display his faith on billboards, yet he displayed it boldly and simplistically…with meekness. The last thing he ever wanted was to use his faith in Jesus Christ, for man's favor. I saw this most in his business life. He never used the Lord to gain what the world had to offer….he served his Lord, in an intimate relationship. A private matter is was to him, to serve the Lord. It was sacred. We could learn a lot from this example.

Bobby was a great business man. He took a family business and went after innovation and technology and birthed a whole new aspect of the business. One that he was proud of and one that proved to be brilliant. He could have taught business in any school in this country. He had an instinct and savvy that is only "earned" on the front lines of decades of experience and is given as a gift, from the Lord. He was careful and he planned his business moves. He was a thinker.

Bobby worked diligently to build a family, a home, a business, and a legacy. Let all of us that were blessed to call him grandfather, father, brother, friend and neighbor….be faithful stewards of the deposits he made in our lives.

In the recent years, I can honestly say there was nothing that made him more proud than his grandchildren. They were his life. He saw bundled in them the best from the past, mingled with the hope for their future. He left a legacy that will extend generations. 

His grandchildren should know that they had a wonderful grandfather and that he loved them deeply. He was one of the kindest, yet toughest men I've ever known. He was a provider, a protector, and force to be reckoned with and he would have laid down his life in a second, without any thought for his own life, for you. In many ways, he has done just that….he had dreams for you, but most of all, that you would be blessed all the days of your life.

I will see Bobby again one day, in glory. There with him, will be many other loved ones and I tearfully thank my Lord, that I will never-ever have to say goodbye to him again.

Bobby - I love you and hopefully, from the bannister of glory, you can now see, how much I love you.

Your son,
John Ray

Family - my heart breaks for you. My prayers are ongoing for you and please know that there are many people remembering you, day and night.

You are in my thoughts.  Bobby is with Ray and frank now and what a reunion they are having.  Love always

We offer much sympathy and a heartfelt love to all the immediate family and relatives. Our fond memories are years old now, but filled with many spiritual recollections from our youth in church together. David, Lisa, Tonya and Brian...The Jones Family

Bobby you will be missed glad to have had such a great friend and boss there wasnt one day i came into work and not seen or heard him laught ... We are all going to miss you...  Mark Bingham

Delores, I am so sorry to hear of your loss.  Although, I had not been in touch with Bobby for a while, my thoughts are with you and your family...

Delores, Renee and Michelle, my thoughts and prayers are with you and the entire Hartsell family.  I love you all dearly, and have some precious memories of your Dad, of all of you. I thank my God in every remembrance of Bobby and his precious family.

Sympathy for the whole Hartsell family....

Baby I am going to miss you so much.....You will be forever in my heart....Always....Bonnie

OBITUARY

Bobby Ray Hartsell

July 7, 1944 – July 12, 2013

Forest Lawn West Funeral, Cremation Service & Cemetery

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