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Robert Bookout Obituary

Aug. 7, 1916 - Sept. 14, 2013
NILES - Robert J Bookout, 97, of Niles, MI passed away on Saturday, September 14, 2013 at his home. Robert was born on August 7, 1916 in Hartford City, IN to Leonard and Ruth (Hiles) Bookout. He married Virginia Boyle on Dec. 12, 1961. Robert was a U.S. Army Veteran serving in World War II. He founded Bookout Furniture in 1952, and was later joined in the business by his brother Raymond. He sold the business in 1998. Robert was a member of Buchanan Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Robert is survived by son, Gary (Carolyn) Bookout of Clearwater, FL; two daughters, Joyce (Gayle) Simmons of Marion, IN, and Roberta (Bob) Sanders of Washington State; stepdaughter, Candi Moore of South Bend, numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, two nieces, one nephew and special sister-in-law, Donna Weller. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Virginia, daughter Rebecca, two stepdaughters, Robyn and Sherry, and two brothers, Melvin and Raymond. A funeral service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1107 N. Red Bud Trail, Buchanan, MI with visitation from 2-3 p.m. Arrangements have been entrusted to Hoven Funeral Home of Buchanan. Online condolences may be made at www.hovenfunerals.com.

Published by South Bend Tribune on Sep. 16, 2013.
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Keeping Grandpa Bookout in my thoughts and remembering his lovely smile and beautiful artwork. We miss you!

Mikaela Maldonado

September 17, 2013

Dear Daddy,

No matter how far away you were, I always knew you were there for the family. I love you very much and will miss your comforting presence that I felt even when we were separated by great distances.

I cherish my last visit to you with my youngest daughter, Mikaela, and will hold the memory of you on that day in my heart forever.

My mother said you were adamant never to name a son Robert Jr. I'm glad you didn't have a problem with adding the letter "a" to your name for a daughter. I often felt like my name wasn't really mine but as I grew older I was thankful that it was a feminine version of my dad's name. I even suggested to Annika that she do the same thing for one of her daughters and add an a to her dad's name, so she has a Carla. I also told Becky's daughter, Denise, to name her daughter after her father by adding the a sound to it, Brian became Brianna. So you started a tradition, I'm just thankful that one of my sons has Robert as a middle name and as I tell everyone it is for his grandfather not his father. And I have a grandson whose middle name is James, I always wanted one of my grandsons to have James as a middle name.

I wish there had been a way for you to meet all of my children and grandchildren but I knew you couldn't travel such a great distance. I tried to send pictures and update you on their lives but I wanted them to know and love you. And they would have loved you because everyone who met you always did. My mother's mom always loved you even after you left. She could recognize a good man when she met him.

This is getting ridiculously long but I was never able to come and say these things to you in person although I've wanted to travel to see you for two years now. I'll find a way past it, another thing you gave me besides your name was your strength and ability to go on no matter what happened. You were a great example to me on how to carry on with life no matter what it brings.

I want to thank you for everything you did, for my big brother and sister growing up, for my baby sister, for my step-sisters and my wonderful step-mother, Ginny. Mostly though I want to thank you for being you, the man who rarely wrote letters but whose letters I always cherished and showed off to my Bob. I'd say, My dad wrote this to me and he hates to write letters. Unfortunately I never liked to write letters very much either so we had the strange phone calls with neither of us able to hear the other very well. And about twice a year a long letter updating you on everyone's life. I wanted you to know them in the only way I knew how, tell you the good and the bad aspects of their lives.

If anyone could understand, it would be you. You didn't always have it easy but you persevered and never quit. I'm happy to finally tell you my oldest, Kirk, has found the love of his life. Like you it took him a while, three mistakes before getting it right. Connie is his Ginny, the right woman for him who came into his life at just the right time. I hope they have as many happy years as you did with Ginny. He is just months short of turning 45, the age you were when you married Ginny. Kirk always looked like you did in your picture in your Army Air Core uniform.

Well I need to end this, I could go on forever, don't want to end my last letter to you.

I hated it when you left, but never hated you for leaving. I understood that it isn't always possible for a couple to stay together and you did the right thing to leave when you did.

Both you and my mother deserved the chance to find happiness somewhere else with someone else and I'm very happy you succeeded in doing so even though it took some time.

I love you and will miss you.
Your loving daughter,
Roberta

Roberta Sanders

September 17, 2013

Always remember as a little boy going out to house at Indian Lake and Grandpa Bookout showing me how to put the nightcrawler on the hook right and then taking me out fishing in the boat. Will miss Grandpa as we have missed Grandma also when she passed.

Don Leinonen

September 16, 2013

Dear Gary and Joyce,
Remembering Uncle Bob today and wishing you and your families peace and joy with knowledge that he had a long and productive life.

Mary JO and Dick Hosack

September 16, 2013

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