From his mother's memory book:

"Age 9, 1939

"Bobby's daddy bought him a BB gun. He made the kid a target out by the coal shed. All went well till late that afternoon. Bobby came in--his face was as white as a sheet. I says 'Now what's wrong?' and he says mama I just shot part of my front tooth out. I just laughed, because I was so very glad that it wasn't his eyes that had been hurt.

Kathleen Argo, 1939

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there,
I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight
On the ripened grain.
I am the gentle Autumn's rain.
When you awaken in the morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there.
I did not die.
My Spirit is still alive…