Feature Articles
02 Jul 2008
Bob Whitehead
Bob Whitehead, from Pensacola, Florida, passed away in the early morning hours Friday, June 27th. Bob was a contributing writer for SoGospelNews and a friend to many in the southern gospel community. There is no funeral service planned. He will be missed by many.
Cliff Cerce wrote the following tribute to Bob's memory.
Bob Whitehead was a dear friend. I first learned of him through his postings on the SoGospelNews.com “list” that is sent to subscribers throughout the day. My first impression of him turned out to be dead-on accurate—seeing him as one quick to help anyone with a technical or informational question. A Microsoft-certified programmer (MCSD, short for Microsoft Certified Solution Developer), he was proficient in Visual Basic, among other skills. He worked from home as a programmer, until his severe diabetes caused him to go on full disability.
He scared me almost to death the first time I actually met him in person in the Fall of 2002. We were in Smyrna, TN—just outside Nashville—to sing at the SoGospelNews.com concert held at River of Life Assembly of God. We gathered at the local Shoney’s Restaurant for a brunch earlier that day and everyone was asking where Bob was, as he had not yet arrived. Then someone yelled, “There he is!” as a white car came zipping around the corner, headed for the plate glass window of the restaurant (that I was standing across from) and then miraculously came to a stop in time in the parking space, as we all instinctively took a few protective steps backward. Then this energetic man, with a grin four feet wide, jumped out of the car and ran into the restaurant, enthusiastically greeting everyone. That was Bob!
He sang that night in the concert and did a good job. We talked often on the phone after that, and I found him to be a great prayer partner, as we regularly remembered each others’ needs in prayer. He sent me a treasure not long ago—unfinished recordings from a never-finished solo album he worked on years ago, before the studio went out of business. He loved to sing about his Lord—and it showed.
We passed through his town of Pensacola, FL several years ago in the late Summer of 2005, and we went to breakfast with him. Then, we went to the beach for a day of swimming, but he had to leave because he wasn’t feeling well. We offered to leave with him, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He just suggested we get together for dinner before we left town, and we did later that day at one of his favorite restaurants.
But, dinner didn’t last for several hours, as it often can with friends, as he had to leave to get to his Monday night Bible study. Bob loved his church, Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola. He would often bring me up to date on what was happening there, and was clearly a plugged-in member.
That was the last time I saw Bob in person, though we have spoken many times since on the phone. The diabetes appears to have caused numerous health issues over the last several years. His ultimate dream was to move to Jim Bakker’s Morningside Community. We visited there a few weeks ago, and we stopped and prayed there on the grounds that God would grant Bob’s wish.
But instead, God took him to a better place. He will be missed.
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Written: 07/02/2008 
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