Felix was nearly 16 years old and away at school when I was born. As a kid, my earliest recollection of 'him' was the vacant bedroom upstairs that was off limits to me and rightfully so. But on one occasion when he was home from school, Felix was my chief babysitter. He and one of his pals took me for a ride in our family sedan and I fell asleep in the back seat.  All was fine with me until one of them shot a big rifle from the car.  BANG!  I woke up crying, "make it stop,” but our dear brother Felix showed no concern for my fears. Little did he know that Mom was waiting at home and very unhappy with his choice of entertainment with me in tow.  Beyond that I have no material recollections of Felix while I was growing-up in New Madrid, other than when he did visit he usually talked about stuff beyond my sphere of understanding with people much older than me.

Our relationship didn't truly develop until I was twenty years old during a trip to Houston with my brothers Jim and Bill and sister-in-law Noell. It was then that I learned about Felix’s fun, witty personality.  To me this was eye-popping; to others, he was the same person they'd known for years.

 I had such a great time with Felix and Pat that I decided to move to Houston after college and build my life there. Felix and Pat were gracious enough put me up for some 3 weeks as long as I looked for employment from 8-5, five days a week.  They also coached me on how to interview.  In fact, practicing my interview skills became a normal part of our everyday conversation.  What would last hours seemed to pass in minutes--so different than any education that I had ever experienced.  When my first job offer came, Felix said to keep looking.  He was right. Within another week or two I had more choices.  I learned so much in that time and continued learning over the next four years that I lived and worked in Houston.  During that same time, however, I also witnessed Pat and Robbie visit the depth of despair, later to be followed by times of elation.  When I took a new position in Fort Worth, I felt sad to leave them. They were my family.  But you know Felix; he told me to go and feel good about my decision and my new life in north Texas. And so I did with his blessing.

As fate would have it, our lives crossed again when I moved to Tulsa and Felix was in Fort Smith. It was an easy drive and we made the most of it. Always great food, great wine and great conversation – interesting pets too! Over the years I’ve come to realize that our families are so much alike but separated by a generation.

And now, as I look back at my times with Pat and Felix, they have been great in duration, rich in content and so valued in life lessons. I’m so grateful that I got to know Felix and  that we could be more than just brothers – we were friends too. I will miss him in this world, yet I can so easily envision him in heaven with our brothers John and Bill and our parents too. He was a good soul. I will cherish our time together and the memories in my heart.

Gene Robbins

(aka Blue)