Robert Hale Dobbs

Robert Hale Dobbs was born in Joplin, Missouri on October 7, 1937 to Everett Hale Dobbs and Vera Leila Skillern Dobbs. He passed away December 3, 2018 in Bentonville, Arkansas at Circle of Life. He spent his school years in Seneca, Missouri. Bob played football and golf, enjoyed traveling with his parents to foreign countries and sailed on the Queen Elizabeth across the Atlantic to Europe. Bob attended the University of Missouri at Columbia where he was a member of the football team and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering. He also graduated from Penn State University from their Executive Management Program. He served in the US Army. Prior to moving to Bella Vista, Arkansas in 1974, Bob spent a number of years working with the Carborundum Company and rose to the position of Vice President. In 1974, Bob became the President and owner of Mid-Western Minerals in Rogers, Arkansas and was a member of the Rogers Rotary Club where he was president elect in 1980. Shortly after moving to Bella Vista, Bob met Karen Breyman. They married at the Bella Vista Country Club in 1975. He designed their home on Lake Windsor and the two did part of the construction at night after work. Over their forty-two years together they have owned several companies including: Vacation Rentals, Vacation Tour & Travel, which was the first travel agency in Bella Vista and Bentonville, Dobbs Management Co., Inc., Classy Carts of Arkansas and Bob's Best Birdseed. Bob was fond of saying," We don't do anything really great, so we do a lot of different things." They felt they were blessed with wonderful people to work with, as well as tremendous people to serve. Karen was a Charter member of the Bella Vista Community Church in 1974, and Bob joined soon after and became the President of the Congregation during the building of the church in 1979 and 1980. Bob served on the Master Committee to honor Sam and Helen Walton in 1984. He was a member of the Executive Committee for the Phillips Pro-Celebrity Charity Classic, which is currently The Cancer Challenge. Bob liked to be in constant motion. He and Karen traveled to many foreign countries (mostly for business), bareboat sailed for years on the Chesapeake, the British Virgin Islands, Florida and the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington. They loved road trips in their motor home. They enjoyed many of the US National Parks and Florida in the winter. When Bob's parents retired they introduced him to Palm Springs. It was love at first sight because of over 200 golf courses for him to enjoy. When time permitted he was in the sun playing tennis, golfing and jogging. When not in motion Bob was an avid reader. In the last few years of his life, he joined Ironwood Country Club in Palm Desert, Calif., where he enjoyed the two beautiful golf courses, great golfing friends and wonderful, caring neighbors. His last memorable trip was in 2013 when he took the whole family on a river rafting adventure through the Grand Canyon. After he was too weak to play golf, he would drive his Razorback red golf cart and give golf lessons at the driving range. Bob took great pride in his children and grandchildren and felt at peace knowing they have good families with happy and healthy grandchildren. Watching them grow into teenagers and young adults brought him much happiness. Bob is survived by his wife, Karen Dobbs of Bella Vista, Arkansas; his daughter, G. Lea Dobbs Kelsey and her husband William, their three children, Hannah, Nate, and Lila of Hopkinton, New Hampshire; his son, Bradley Louis Hale Dobbs, wife Jill and their children, Everett and Chapel Jean of Jefferson City, Missouri. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, his Aunt Jewell Witzansky all of Joplin, Missouri, his half-sister, Patricia Maritan of Tulsa, Oklahoma and nephew Doug Maritan of Fayetteville, Arkansas. A Celebration of Life will be held on December 20th at the Bella Vista Community Church in Bella Vista at 11:00 a.m. Internment will be private under the direction of Heritage Funeral Home. Condolences can be made at www.heritageofnwa.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Circle of Life in Bentonville, the Bella Vista Community Church, The Bella Vista Animal Shelter and First Tee of Arkansas.