Robert Dale Tisdale

Notes:

Robert Tisdale was born with Down's Syndrome. This fact never prevented him from being a loving and much loved son. Evon continued to teach school while she and Dale cared for their son at home. Bob attended Hudson High School, while his mother taught there. He graduated from Lufkin High School. Bob participated in numerous Special Olympics.

While working at the sheltered workshop in Lufkin, Bob took the bus every weekday to work. Evon reported that he was an extremely conscientious worker. She could never convince him to miss a day of work, even if he was sick. He would always insist on reporting for work, and would return home only when his supervisor made him go back home to go to bed.

In September, 1997, Evon wrote to her niece Melinda Strong: "I have placed Bob on a waiting list to go into a group home. There is such a long waiting list it may be two years before they can take him. Don't know is I can live without him. He helps take care of me now." Jan helped her mother move Bob to a group home in Beaumont in the summer of 1998. In a phone conversation with her niece in August, 1998, Evon reported that Bob seemed very happy in this new home, and continued to go to work daily at another sheltered workshop. Bob is able to go home to visit his mother at least one weekend each month.

Obituary

Robert 'Bob' Dale Tisdale, 55, was born February 23, 1957 in Lufkin, Texas, the son of Dale and Evon (McLemore) Tisdale. He passed away August 24, 2012 in Castle Pines Retirement Home. Throughout his life, everyone recognized that Bob was very special. When you met him, he greeted you with a handshake, a big smile on his face and, more than likely, he was going to tell you about Jesus. Bob was a man of great faith and Jesus was number one in his life. His whole being reflected his faith and his joyful praise changed the whole atmosphere of any gathering. Throughout his life he touched so many lives and shared the love of Jesus with so many, that today as he has come face to face with his Jesus, he is no doubt hearing, 'Well done, my faithful son'. The family would like to express a special thank you to the Burke Center, Castle Pines Retirement Home, Heart-to-Heart Hospice, and all of the many healthcare professionals and caregivers that gave such tender loving care to Bob. The surviving family includes his sister and brother-in-law, Janet and A. E. 'Pete' Peterson of Lufkin; niece, Sheryl Falk and husband Richard Retz of Houston; nephew, Lee J. Rawcliffe and his daughter Emily of Houston; uncle, Thomas McLemore and wife, Bonnie, of Houston; and many cousins, other relatives and a host of friends. He is preceded in death by his parents, Dale and Evon Tisdale. Funeral services will be held on Monday, August 27, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. in the Gipson Funeral Home Chapel with Harold Hancock, Minister, officiating. Visitation will be held on Sunday afternoon, August 26, 2012 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Gipson Funeral Home. Interment will be in the Broaddus Cemetery in Broaddus, Texas immediately following the services. Condolences may be offered at www.gipsonfuneralhome.com

Published in The Lufkin Daily News on August 26, 2012
Also published in The Sabine County Reporter on September 5, 2012, Page 9