Have you noticed a little 6” – 8” figure at church that looks like Bob Tibbles?
During the summer of 2020, Phyllis Norris and Jan Anderson were having fun going in and out of resale stores in the South Bend, Indiana, area when Jan came upon a wonderful, little carved figure that looked so much like our own Bob Tibbles. As Phyllis and Jan said, “it looks just like him”. With a big grin Phyllis even mentioned, “he didn’t cost much either”. After riding around with Little Bob in South Bend having much fun, the two returned home.
Once home, and having Little Bob for some time, Jan had an idea to paint The Hymnal 1982 on the book he is holding. Could this make him look more Episcopalian (wink wink)?
Sometime later, Phyllis and Jan told the real Bob about their purchase and placed Little Bob on the counter at the back of the Sanctuary where the choir keeps their music and instruments. As Phyllis mentioned, “we felt this was an appropriate place since the real Bob had been a faithful and great sounding choir member”. Sometime later, the real Bob decided to take Little Bob home and he remained there until Bob’s passing.
After Bob’s passing, Jeanne, Bob’s sister, had an estate sale. While visiting the sale, Phyllis and Jan asked Jeanne if they could have Little Bob back as a special keep-safe to remember the real Bob. After Jeanne gave Little Bob back to them, his name officially changed to “Bob”.
Given the fact Phyllis and Jan had so much fun immediately after buying him and riding around South Bend, the two decided it would be a great idea to take Bob on road trips. Phyllis packed up Bob in the convertible she purchased during the estate sale and off they went to Northern Wisconsin on a 1500-mile adventure with Phyllis’ niece, Connie. Since that initial Wisconsin trip, Bob has traveled with Marilee Roth to their family’s Upper Michigan lake house on Lake Gogebic, with Carol Grant and Bil Kiersh on a great adventure in the Midwest and Western part of the United States.
Bob didn’t travel too far for one of his adventures. He helped Jon and Mother Darlene Kuhn do some landscaping work at their home.
Jan and Phyllis are happy to have Bob travel to other parts of the country … even to other parts of the world. If you are interested in having Bob travel with you, contact Phyllis Norris or Jan Anderson at their contact information in the current Parish Directory, or reach out to Candice in the office. She will let Phyllis and Jan know you are interested in having Bob accompany you on your next travel adventures. Bob has a busy schedule, so it’s best to plan early.
We invite you to look through some of Bob’s travel adventures below. A short description of his travels is included with each photo.
