Those of you who know Nathan and myself know that we are sports fans, especially basketball. I come by it naturally. I grew up in a family of sports fans and coaches. At this time of year, on the eve of the NCAA National Championship game, I can’t help but think of my granddad. I would like to take this time to honor him by telling a small part of his story and I will explain why in the end.
Charles Robert “Bobby” Reese was born on October 1, 1930 in Pike County Arkansas. He grew up in Kirby, AR. He played basketball at Henderson State University from 1948-1952. Bobby Reese married Jean Woodall on June 1, 1952. They were married for 28 years and had 3 daughters: Rita, Tina and Terri.
Coach Bobby Reese has a combined 23 years of coaching experience. In 15 years at the high school level, he had one state championship and one state runner-up team in basketball and one state championship on the junior high level. He coached at Delight, Umpire, Waldo, Mabelvale, and McClellan. During his seven years at the collegiate level, he led Henderson State to two NAIA runner-up finishes as the head coach and two additional NAIA runner-up finishes as an assistant coach. He was the head coach at Henderson State from 1978-1980, compiling a 44-14 record. He also served as an assistant for three years at Arkansas State University.
Bobby Reese was killed in an automobile accident on March 20, 1980, on his way home from the Junior College National Championship Tournament in Kansas. He was 49 years old.
I never really knew my granddad. I was less than 2 when he died. I am the oldest grandchild and the only one born before he passed away. I can look him up on the internet and see from his many honors and awards what a great coach he was. You can see that from what I wrote above. I have heard many stories over the years and I know from those what a sense of humor he had and what a great guy he was. My favorite story is one my mom tells of when she was in high school She had a date on Saturday night, but mentioned on Friday evening the night before how she hoped it was on Saturday and not Friday. My granddad, overhearing this, went out and wrung the doorbell, then yelled to my mom that her date was here. My mom had her hair in curlers and was not dressed and said she went running around the house like crazy, trying to get ready, while my granddad laughed!
But most importantly, I have learned from the lives of my grandmother, my mom, and my aunts, what an amazing Christian man, husband, and father he was. I can see this in the legacy of faith he has left behind. He would be so proud to see all of his daughters married to Christian men and having raised faithful children of their own. He would have loved to watch his grandsons play football and his granddaughters play basketball. And I know he would have been so proud to see his great-grandchildren Griffin, Tucker, Lily, and Jude and watch as they grow up.
And that brings me back to the reason for this tribute. Nathan and I plan to honor my granddad and his family by naming our daughter Reese. We have talked about this ever sense we found out we were pregnant with Griffin and decided to save it for our little girl. We kept the names of our boys a secret and originally planned to do the same with this one, but before I could tell him not to, Griffin had told his entire class and several of our friends so why fight it.
I know that my granddad would be proud to see his name live on in this way and we pray that she continues his legacy of Christian faith on to her children and grandchildren, as we hope for our boys as well. It wouldn’t hurt if she is a good basketball player too!
