BY MIKE FUHRMAN
Robb Stamey doesn’t recall ever hearing his father tell him that he loved him.
But he has never doubted the depth of his father’s feelings for him.
Robert “Bob” Stamey demonstrated his love for his family, friends, business associates and the community with ribeye steaks, ice cream sundaes and long horse rides. Bob’s love also took the form of a community ballfield, hosting 200 people for Thanksgiving dinner, a bumper sticker touting his grandson’s college and the single red carnation he gave the love of his life, his wife Pam, on their first Valentine’s Day.
“He didn’t have to say he loved you because it was so strong and so present,” Robb Stamey told the hundreds of people who packed the sanctuary and family center at Broad Street United Methodist Church in Statesville on Saturday to pay their respects to the Stamey family.
Bob Stamey, 76, died in an accident while working on the family farm on Monday, August 22. His death was felt throughout Iredell County, where he was considered a pillar of the community, and across the globe, in places like Vietnam, Russia, Kazakhstan and Ecuador, where he exported cattle for nearly five decades.
During Saturday’s Celebration of Life Service, Bob’s children and grandchildren shared memories and lessons learned over the years from the Stamey family patriarch.
Holt Stamey said his “Papa” put his heart into everything, whether he was building a fence, organizing a community oyster roast or taking the entire family on vacation to Alaska.
When Holt got accepted to the University of Oregon, no one was more proud than his grandfather, who immediately slapped a big green “O” sticker on the back of his truck.
Bob’s granddaughters said they would always remember that their “Papa” traveled to their horse shows and spoiled them with ice cream sundaes.
David Stamey described his father as old-fashioned. He didn’t email or text message. He liked to quote Thomas Jefferson, and when it was time to get to work on the farm Bob awakened his boys early on Saturdays and over summer vacation with a simple “Let’s roll.”
An outstanding athlete, Bob taught his oldest son how to run an out-route on the football field. But when David showed some hesitancy about going out for football as a high school freshman, his father motivated him by offering to take him to Beaver’s Country Store for new milking boots or to a sporting goods store for new football cleats. David went out for football.
In 2004, when he was living and working in Mexico, David wrote a six-page letter to his father. In case anything happened, he wanted to make sure his father knew what he meant to him.
Father and son never discussed that letter, but years later David found it in Bob’s desk. The letter was still there this week, and reading it gave David some measure of comfort.
Rev. Andy Lackey told the large crowd that Bob’s legacy will endure the test of time. He spent his life loving God, his family and his neighbors, Lackey said, and was rewarded with everlasting life.
“Bob Stamey knows heaven is real and God is real, and right now Bob is more alive than he has ever been in his life,” Lackey said.
Following the service, the Stamey family welcomed hundreds of people for lunch at Boxwood. Bob would have loved that.