BobH's son posted this...

To All: It is with a heavy heart that i must report that despite all efforts Dad has no detectable brain activity. As per his wishes, we will be disconnecting all life support this coming Thursday afternoon, giving distant family time to gather. The doctors assure us he will slip away quietly, quickly and painlessly. I find this ironic, i suppose, since he has always been a man of grand gesture to me. I will keep this site active for a while and i beg two requests of you all. First, that if you have a special memory or anecdote, you share it here so all his friends,myself, and Cassie can enjoy it together. Second, the next time you sit down to a special meal or share a wine you know he would love, please think of him; I know that would please him. It would be a simple thing, but a grand gesture indeed.
Bob Jr.


This was on Facebook...if you are not on FB and have comments, I will transfer them there.

[David M. Bueker]

So sorry to hear this. Bob was a wonderful member of the community here, and it's incredibly sad to see him go. Every time I drink a Marsanne I think of him, remembering how fond he was of the Tahbilk wines.

I will miss Bob H. dearly. We would sit out front of our shared cabin at MoCool and discuss all manner of things. I vividly remember the Ch. Musar tasting he conducted in a motel room (Microtel?) many years back and how he really loved those wines.

[Robin Garr]

Bob was arguably the first member of this little online community. Back in the early days of the Web, when Mosaic was just evolving into the first iteration of Netscape, I set up a little wine-education page and attached a "post a question" section that somehow evolved into a very primitive kind of forum. Someone would post an item. I'd respond. They'd respond. Someone else would join in. This was around 1995, I guess, and the first regular poster was a friendly guy from Lexington who signed on as "Bob H." We've been through a lot of iterations and a lot of wine geeks have spent time with us since then, but I'll never forget Bob's friendly face as having been the first to come through these doors.

:cry:

So sorry to hear this. Bob was a wonderful member of the community here, and it's incredibly sad to see him go. Every time I drink a Marsanne I think of him, remembering how fond he was of the Tahbilk wines.

I have to agree with David, Tahbilk had a big fan in Bob H and I would always email him when I saw/drank a Tahbilk. A few years ago, I mentioned that I had never seen ESJ in AB and he said that he could send me some. Tough to do that but I was very lucky that some friends on mine were going to his area for a horse show. They hooked up and BobH kindly handed over 4 bottlers of various ESJ and a Tahbilk. Fantastic pal eh.
I will open something in his memory later this week. Lets all open a wine and post here in memory of a wonderful kind and generous gentleman.

**** looking at some past Bob H threads, He and I talk about Chateau de Lancyre from the Languedoc quite often. The VV is lined up Bob!

So sorry to hear this

[Robin Garr]

I have to agree with David, Tahbilk had a big fan in Bob H and I would always email him when I saw/drank a Tahbilk. A few years ago, I mentioned that I had never seen ESJ in AB and he said that he could send me some. Tough to do that but I was very lucky that some friends on mine were going to his area for a horse show. They hooked up and BobH kindly handed over 4 bottlers of various ESJ and a Tahbilk. Fantastic pal eh.

Bob P, I think that kind of act was typical of Bob, who never met a wine he didn't want to share with his friends.

It was a great pleasure for me to be able to hand-carry home from Australia a Tahbilk bottle that was very hard to get at that time in the U.S. It brought him a lot of joy to get it, and gave me a lot of joy to make it happen.

Damn...If I had a Big Green Egg or Kamado I would be firing it up in his honor this week. There will be a toast to his memory though.

This is very sad news. Bob was such a genial and friendly person to chat with (virtually, in my case) and always enlivened the conversation. I'll open something in Bob's memory and post on it.

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

Damn...If I had a Big Green Egg or Kamado I would be firing it up in his honor this week. There will be a toast to his memory though.

Kamado should close the factory for a day in his honor!

One of the good guys. I know I'll miss him.

[James Roscoe]

He was a great man! Condolences to the family. Bob will be remembered fondly by this community. I will personally miss his warm generosity and wonderful sense of humor. God speed BobH!

When I think of Bob, I think of Linda Lindsay and Stone Wolf Vineyards. He was so pleased with her wines and excited by her attending MO'COOL. I don't have any Stone Wolf wines with which to toast Bob but will open another Oregon Pinot Noir this weekend in his memory. My sincere condolences to the family. We prayed for Bob and the family at ladies' Bible study this afternoon at St. Paul's in-the-Pines Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, NC and at a Cursillo reunion group meeting this evening.

I met Bob in person at a lunch in the Spring of 2004, I believe, at a really tremendous lunch at a restaurant in a town mid-way between Louisville and Frankfort, and felt almost at once, that we were old friends. He bought a few cases of wine from me, and we saw each other at a small handful of events and I wish, now, I'd had more chance to spend time with him. He was lovely, and gone way too soon. May the wind always be at your back, Bob

[Jenise]

When I think of Bob, I think of Linda Lindsay and Stone Wolf Vineyards. He was so pleased with her wines and excited by her attending MO'COOL. I don't have any Stone Wolf wines with which to toast Bob but will open another Oregon Pinot Noir this weekend in his memory. My sincere condolences to the family. We prayed for Bob and the family at ladies' Bible study this afternoon at St. Paul's in-the-Pines Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, NC and at a Cursillo reunion group meeting this evening.

You're a good woman. Yes, Bob did love Stone Wolf wines. But that was something particularly special about Bob--when he connected with a wine it was a very personal connection and he became fiercely and unendingly loyal to the brand, all the way to the winemaker/owners.

I can add little to the outpouring here, but having spent many a chat with Bob and having had the chance to meet him at an offline in Indy, he was one of the very best that the WLDG community had the pleasure of calling its own - always so friendly, so genuinely interested in what you had to say, and based on the one offline I spend with him, most generous. I'll miss him each time I log into chat and his name isn't there.

Damn. That just plain sucks. A kind, generous, and gentle man who I will miss. I'm glad our paths crossed.

This just appeared on Facebook...

To All: Dad has passed. As per directions in his living will, we disconnected support machinery and, at 5:47, dad stepped off the stage and onto the wings where a nice glass of marsanne was waiting smile emoticon. Although we grieve, we know we do not grieve alone and that a burden shared is a burden halved. Your thoughts and prayers are of great comfort to us, and know that you all are in ours as well. Arrangements have not been finalized but I will post them when they are. All who wish to attend will, of course, be welcome. To Bob!
Bob Jr. and family

This is Bob's daughter Cassie. Your memories that are being shared are so heartwarming to me. It means the world to know Dad touched so many lives over the years he shared many stories of his adventures with all of you even if it was through this on line forum. We will post any updates as soon as we know when, where, etc.. Love Cassie

I first met Bob H at the first MoCool the Noland brothers attended - Pinot Envy in 2002. We met Bob on the bus to one of the events. He was, without a doubt, the friendliest MoCooler we met that weekend. Through the years of MoCool events, we shared many a bottle together and some really good times. It is with a heavy heart that I grieve over the loss of this fine Southern Gentleman who loved his wine, food and friends with equal passion. I will truly miss Bob. MoCool will never be the same without him. He exemplified the spirit of MoCool.

Very saddened to hear of Bob's passing. After years of posting comments to each other on the forum and talking in the chat room, even Voice Chat one time when we struggled a little with our accents - his southern drawl, our Kiwi twang - it was terrific to meet Bob in person in Michigan in August 2013. Our condolences to his family. He will be remembered even time we open a Tahbilk Marsanne.
Sue & Neil