Robert Franklin Hood

He was born on August 24, 1932, to the late Anna Belle and William Hall Hood.

Bob graduated from Brown High School in Atlanta, Georgia in the class of 1950. Following high school, he attended University of Georgia, graduating in 1955, with his degree in International Languages. He was fluent in Spanish, and briefly taught while serving in the Army, before entering the insurance industry.

In 1957, he married Marilyn Broadwater and the couple relocated to Tampa in 1968. There, they raised their three daughters in their family home in Town & Country. Bob was the family breakfast cook, creating daily culinary delights (such as green grits and pancakes of all different colors and shapes) for his daughters. Every Saturday at noon, the family stopped whatever they were doing and gathered around their kitchen table for hot dogs. Usually, extra chairs needed to be pulled in for his daughters’ friends who stopped by for fun, laughter, and a hot dog with onions and relish on a buttery toasted bun.

He was always available to help family, friends, and neighbors. He helped his father with odd jobs to support their family while growing up in West End, Atlanta, Georgia. That experience taught him boundless skills which he then used to help others throughout his lifetime.

He also had a love for and command of the English language. He read the Oxford Dictionary daily for fun and served as editor and proofreader for his daughters’ homework and other writing projects. (We do hope this obituary meets his approval!)

Bob served proudly in the United States Army Reserves for ten years. Then he went to work for Chubb Insurance, and retired in 1995. Bob was a casualty underwriting specialist for over 25 years.

Bob loved golf. Every day after work, he stopped by the Shimberg Field next to Memorial Highway in Tampa (which was vacant at the time). He pulled a bag of golf balls from his trunk and hit some practice swings for a few minutes before going home. Sometimes, on any given Saturday, he’d take a lawnmower out of the trunk to trim up the “greens!”

In retirement, Bob could usually be found in his garage, doing woodworking projects, fixing things, and creating lots of sawdust. He spent many hours building furniture that filled the family home, cabinets for his church, and keepsakes for his family. In his spare time, he even remodeled much of one of his daughter’s houses.

He also spent many hours serving as the Treasurer of the Town & Country Civic Association in Tampa, and also as Treasurer of the Friends of the Town & Country Library. When his wife Marilyn retired, he served as the official van chauffeur as they traveled around the country, exhibiting her handmade quilts in national and state shows. Back home, he liked to walk, run, and bike many miles along trails in Town & Country.

Bob had an outlook of strength and peace, and was respected by all who knew him.

Above all, Bob loved to laugh. His jokes were legendary (and quite predictable). Everyone was given a loving nickname. And if you asked him how he was doing, the answer was always: “I’m fine as frog’s fuzz!” Even on the day before his passing, that was his response.

Bob is survived by his wife, Marilyn Hood; daughters, Diane (Robert Gudger) Nettles, Trish (Ed) Harrison, Anne (Carl) Eller; grandchildren, Chuck (Sarah) Nettles, Tom (Crystal Joyce) Nettles, Eddie (Shalisa) Harrison, Nicki Harrison, Benjamin (Bidisha Dutta) Eller; Timothy Eller, Allie (Christian) Thompson; and great-grandchildren, Charlotte Nettles, Abigail Nettles, Nicklaus Nettles, and Harper Harrison, as well as many extended family members and friends.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Bill Hood, and sister, Sarah Newman. He was also preceded in death by his son-in-law, Timothy Nettles.

The family would like to say thank you to the following people for all their support and loving care: the staff and management at Accordia Woods Assisted Living in Palm Harbor, the caregivers with Retro LifeCare, the hospice care team at Suncoast Hospice, and Melissa Kuttas, Aging Life Care Professional with Care Resources of Tarpon Springs.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on August 10, 11:00 am, at White Chapel in downtown Palm Harbor.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the University of Georgia Foundation at www.give.uga.edu (“Go, you hairy Dawgs!”) or the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org.