Robert Duane “Bob” Makinson, 68, of Halfway, died Nov. 30, 2005, at Syringa Chalet Nursing Facility in Blackfoot, Idaho, where he had lived for the past 13 years.
There will be a memorial/burial service in the spring.
Bob, the son of Ellis and Bessie Makinson, was born on Jan. 16, 1937. He grew up on the family farm and learned at an early age the ethic of hard work, which he carried throughout his life.
Bob liked “living on the edge.” He got his first motorcycle at the age of 16, but shortly after was involved in a wreck. He survived the accident but had epilepsy as a result.
This didn’t discourage him. He joined the U.S. Navy on Jan. 22, 1957, serving at the U.S. Naval Training Center in San Diego, Calif.
He didn’t know how to swim, but struggled in the water and made it across the pool in fear that they would kick him out of the Navy. He later said that because of his stubbornness, he missed out on being taught to swim. On March 31, 1959, he was medically discharged.
Bob then began working as a ranch hand and later followed construction — working on the Snake River dams, and also in Washington, Idaho and Nevada — always returning home to Pine Valley.
He loved fishing, hunting, and helping his Mom with huckleberry picking and getting wood for the winter. Bob was a country boy — Levis, snap-button Western shirt, cowboy boots and hat — driving his Ford truck. He loved country music and he loved kids. He would let his nieces and nephews wrestle and climb all over him.
Uncle Bob was their champion. His “parental” advice was, the boys needed to be tough and the girls needed to have long hair!
Survivors include his three sisters, Wanda Ulbright, and her husband, Richard, of Boise, Eileen Carson and her husband, Danny, of Bryan, Texas, and Carol Rager and her husband, Mike, of Tigard; many nieces and nephews including, Karen Ulbright and her family of Waldorf, Md., Linda Kaufmann and her family of Spokane, Wash., Sherri Edwards and her family of Boise, Teresa Zimmer and her family of Boise, Barbara Anderson and her family of Bryan, Texas, Debra Daniels and her family, also of Bryan, Texas, Kathy Zimmerman and her family of Akron, Colo., Sue Mertz and her family of Houston, Brian Rager and his family of Beaverton, Chad Rager and his family of Maupin, Joy Lynn Holland and her family of Beaverton and Anjali Ram and her husband of Hillsboro.
He was preceded in death by both parents; and a nephew, Rick Ulbright.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, December 9, 2005
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor