Robert Francis Tobin

Robert Francis Tobin (Bob), 91, of Prescott, passed peacefully on October 23, 2013 surrounded by his loving family. He was born August 25, 1922 in a small hospital in Montrose, Colorado. He was the first child of Francis and Bertha Tobin. They lived on a 90-acre farm near Montrose where they raised string beans, corn, potatoes, oats, wheat, barley, and alfalfa. Bob attended Oak Grove School, which was about one-half mile from his house. He attended Montrose County High School beginning in 1936 and graduated in 1940. Bob loved sports, and in High School he played both basketball and baseball. He also raised sheep and had a herd of 15-20, one of which won Grand Champion at the Montrose County Fair. After High School, Bob went to college at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado where he majored in Animal Husbandry and was a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. In May of 1943, the end of his 3rd year, he left college to tend the farm back in Montrose due to his father’s illness. In addition to working the farm, he accepted the position of Assistant County Agent from April 1944 until September 1945. While back in Montrose, he met his future wife, Lennea (Lynn) Bickford at the ice cream parlor in the local drug store. In the fall of 1945, he received notice that he was drafted and he joined the Army Air Corp on December 20, 1945. He did his basic training at Sheppard Field in Texas and after completion was sent to Barksdale Field in Louisiana. Later, he received approval to attend medical training in Denver, Colorado. While in Denver, on June 26, 1946, Bob and Lynn were married. After the training, they both returned to Louisiana where Bob was promoted to Ward Supervisor and put in charge of a medical ward. He was honorably discharged on November 19, 1946 at the rank of Buck Private. After the Army Air Corp, he moved back to Montrose but quickly returned to college in May of 1948 to complete his degree. He had to attend summer school and graduated the next year in May 1949 with a Bachelors of Science in Animal Husbandry. His first job out of college was as an instructor with a federal program where he taught military service veterans farming techniques. In February 1953, he began his career with the Soil Conservation Service where he worked with ranchers and farmers with water application and acquisition techniques, land leveling and soil composition analysis. His career with the Soil Conservation Service had him moving frequently (40 times) to new locations and new positions. Over the years he worked in Gunnison, CO; Norwood, CO; Yuma, AZ; Welton, AZ; Mesa, AZ; Buckeye, AZ; and finally Prescott, AZ on 8/10/68 where he retired in June of 1981 after 30 years of service with the federal government. In 1982, he started a yard work business to help older people with yard work and other side jobs that they needed done. He worked on this for 13 years and retired for good in 1995. He was always active in his church and various charities. He loved his family and grand and great-grandchildren. He enjoyed golf, fishing, horseshoes, gardening, and playing board games. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He will be missed greatly, but we are comforted that he will be with his Heavenly Father. Bob was preceded in death by his parents Francis and Bertha Tobin and his sister Lois McCaslin. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Lynn Tobin; his siblings Eileen Quint, Dean Tobin, and Joan Blair; his daughter Sheri (Mike) Tobin-McElrath; his sons Tom (Jody) Tobin and Mike (Stacy) Tobin; 7 grandchildren; and 7 great-grandchildren.

Cemetery:
Robert will be buried with military honors at 11 a.m. at the