Deceased Classmate: Bobby Guinn
Date Of Birth: Apr. 1, 1948
Date Deceased: Oct. 4, 2014
Age at Death: 66
Cause of Death: Abdominal Aorta Aneurysm
Classmate City: Camp Verde
Classmate State: AZ
Classmate Country: USA
Survived By: Paulette, wife
Died in 2014. Bobby was a retired firefighter. Doug Tucker was one of his closest friends.
~ Submitted by Jim Collard
Bobby as everyone called him in high school, was born on April 1, 1948. He passed away on Oct. 4, 2014, dying very suddenly due to an abdominal aorta aneurysm, he was only 66 yrs young. We were married on his birthday, April 1, 1987 and were married almost 28 years. They were the best years of my life. While Doug Tucker may have been Bob's closest friend in high school, David Levine and he became close after the 20th reunion. We flew to San Francisco to be at David and Nora's wedding a few years after ours. Bob served in the Air force as an engineer on the U2s for 4 yrs, and in the reserves for 2 yrs. He served three tours in South East Asia during Viet Nam era. A legacy, Bob (James Robert, Jr.) followed his father (James Robert, Sr.) into the Phoenix Fire Department (PFD) where he was an Engineer with the PFD for 25 years. Please add Walker after my name as so many people do not realize I was a class mate - I have been known as "Bobbi's wife" which is really so awesome for me.
~ Submitted by Paulette Walker (Guinn)
Paulette Walker (Guinn)
Bob was one of the most generous people you will have ever met. He didn't care who you were or why you needed an extra dollar, he just gave it to you, and Vets were a constant focus. Coming out of the Orpheum Theater in down town Phoenix after our granddaughter's performance, he stopped to give money to a man sitting on the sidewalk, up against a building in the shade. Then he started talking to the man and the next thing that happened will always remain with me as picture of who Bob truly was. As he leaned down to give the man the 20, he shook the man's hand, then stood up very straight, and saluted him. Then very peacefully he took my hand and we walked on. When we got to the corner, I turned and saw not one, but several other men leaving the Orpheum stop and give the man money. Some also shook his hand, and a few like Bob saluted him. Bob will always remain the best thing in my life. Love you forever, Paulette
Kristin Lee Weisser (Gourley)
It is so special to see your comment, Paulette. I remember that you were a part of our quite amazing class. And Bobby is someone I will always remember. Some of us were together from early on at Kenilworth through West High, and there are so many memories. I think of Bobby as such a great athlete and when I see his picture from the West High yearbook, I remember his face, how it could light up a room. I know that our years at West High were some of the best of my life. It was a special time when we were at West High, before so much craziness that came at the end of the '60's and changed the world forever. But those years at West, we had teachers, classes, activities that were so important to me---like Advanced Dance. Productions all of the committees that everyone wanted to be on--it was important to be a big part of the life of West High and I think we all loved doing it all. I went to the U of A for college and the world was turning upside down---even if in Tucson we were sort of out of the mainstream culture!!! I will treasure always the people we were and the friends that we had and the things we accomplished while at West High. Thanks Paulette for sharing your memories. Doug Tucker is a name that shines out for me too. Kristin Weisser Gourley Class of 1966
Gregory Peter Bray
Still hard to believe Bobby 's gone. He was the picture of health all the years I knew him. I count him as a good friend.
Jim Collard
Bobby was a good friend and even though sometimes I would not have contact with him for years we always greated each other like great friends. He was one of the few people who got away calling me Jimmy but it sounded right coming from him and he was always Bobby; the guy with the big smile, endless enthusiasm and warmth. I count it as my very good fortune to have traveld north to Camp Verde for one of his last birthday parties. He was just slightly more subdued but no less warm and flashed that big grin.
David Barry Goldstein
I am saddened to hear about Bob's passing. I have good memories of him, his warmth and smile. R.I.P.
David Steven Levine
I knew Bob Guinn at West, but only slightly. Paulette, too. They became good friends of mine, and of my wife Nora, as a result of a professional encounter between Bob and me over 20 years ago.
And there is this one vivid memory. During a visit to Bob and Paulette's home in Camp Verde, Bob took me out to the desert to target shoot. My only previous encounter with guns was at a YMCA shooting range, learning to shoot a BB rifle. I didn't like it and I didn't like the idea of it. I had a high school girl friend (from Central) whose two brutish, if not psychotic, brothers loved to shoot song birds off telephone wires, which pretty much captured my view of guns, gun owners and gun culture. Plus, guns are frightening. And then Bob took me out to the desert to target shoot.
Did it change my mind about guns? Not really. They are certainly capable of providing sporting fun to users. There is plenty of skill entailed in hitting the target reliably, and I can and do enjoy watching shooting competitions during the Olympics. That said, I still hate the damn things and wouldn't blink if they were all registered, or even banned entirely. But I had the best time that day with Bob, shot reasonably well and kept the two targets as souvenirs, framing them and hanging them on my office wall. I see them every day, and have for 20 years, and I remember Bob every single time I do.
We were improbable friends, but we were friends nonetheless. He called me "Bub," and anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that's about the last nickname one would choose for me. (Or maybe he called everyone "Bub" ....) I wore the name proudly.
He was as good a man as I have known. He was not without his challenges, nor his faults, nor even his demons, and he surely had as long a list of life mistakes and regrets as each of us has. But he was genuine and decent and gracious and interested and modest and self-effacing and engaged and loving and strong and sweet -- all qualities in high demand and in short supply. He loved Paulette more than he loved anything else in life, she loved him back with the same depth and fierceness, and anyone in their presence could see as much. I will miss honoring him and hugging her at the Reunion, but I do so now, looking at those two targets.
Eric Peter Greer
Bob and I reconnected through classmates.com a couple of years before his passing. Being football team mates was our closest connection in high school but he also treated me like a long lost best friend. We met a few times for a day of fishing in the Payson and Camp Verde areas. I learned that he was very patriotic, with a love of country and a concern for the national well being rarely seen these days. He made it clear that marrying Paulette was the best thing he ever did. He seemed very content to work around their property in Camp Verde, caring for their animals and living with the love of his life. His passing shocked me as it did many who knew him. I am thankful that we had many conversations that were spiritual in nature and he expressed his faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. I look forward to connecting with him again in the heavenly realm. I deeply regret that I was unable to attend his memorial service, but his memory will always remain with me.John Shultz
Bob was an awesome and good man--Gone way to soon
John Shultz