Robert Cocks

I will always think of Bob, and you Judy during the spring and our visit to the Tulip festival. Bob invited you to join us and I am so happy that he did. It gave us quality adult time to get to know know each other. Most memories are from childhood so this was extra special. Our private phone calls were a surprise and held dearly in my heart. We miss you, Bob.

Bob was my wife Kathy Cocks-Sadlowski´s cousin. I´d bump into him every decade or so when we stayed overnight at his home on our way to or from "the lake" in Minnesota. Other than "Hi, how are you?" or "Thanks for letting us stay", I didn´t have the first clue of who Bob was, other than the idea that he must be a pretty good guy for always taking us in on short notice.

I only got to know Bob better in the last few years, through two encounters. The first was at his home in Woodstock. The second was on weekend excursion to Holland, Michigan. Both were opportunities to take time and sit down together, break bread, share stories, and get a sense of who "the person beneath the veneer" was.

For me the meetings were exhilarating and intoxicating; but at the same time intellectually humbling. An odd mix, to be sure; but one that drew me toward him, like a small object being pulled to a body containing immense gravitational energy.

Bob made me laugh, even as I tried to make him laugh. I take pride in my ability to come up with crazy puns and one-liners to keep a conversation going; but to my surprise I discovered that Bob could always "one-up" me. It became a bit of a contest in my head to outpace him to the next zinger. More often than not I lost; but it made me enamored with him.

At the same time, Bob humbled me with his mind, intellect and oratory. He easily took the measure of me; and I learned that when you raise any issue or talking point with Bob, you´d better be armed with knowledge and the speaking ability to back it up. It was like Sponge Bob Square Pants debating William F. Buckley, or Rocky Balboa philosophizing with Aristotle. No contest. I have come to understand that these spirited dialogues were invigorating to Bob, too. They were an outlet for his great mind, great ideas and great voice. I wish that I could have been a more worthy challenge for him.

Bob was funny; and he was a beyond-world-class thinker. But underneath all of that was a heart as big as Secretariat´s. I knew that he saw me and cared for me as a person; and that his love of people and animals and life came from a spirit that was one with God and mother earth.

Bob made me laugh. He made me think. He made me mad. He made me ponder. He challenged my ideas. He reopened my mind to intellectual rigor, honesty and curiosity. I am a better man for having gotten to know him, even a little. My only regret is that it took me so late in life to discover him.

Be at peace with God, Bob.
Tom Sadlowski