Al Threadgill

The Journey of Al Robert Threadgill (Jr.) AKA, Robert to his friends, Bob or Bobby to his family. The fourth child and only son born to Al Robert Threadgill and Peggy Threadgill (nee Maggie Lee Latham) in Grand Junction, CO on Oct. 1, 1954. Robert left this life on January 20, 2019. As a little boy, Bobby was curious about everything, a tinkerer; several experiments with his chemistry set tried under his mom’s desk resulted in a bit of disaster! The Molotov cocktail experiment in the front yard could have been more than disastrous. He did lead a charmed life in many ways, however, and while he faced many challenges growing up and throughout his life, he lived tenaciously and with optimism that all would come right. Robert, like his father was a lifelong learner. Always getting top grades, he secured a scholarship to CU after he graduated from Fruita Monument High School in 1972. Unfortunately, his year in Boulder presented too many challenges for a troubled young man. He was, however, able to move forward and create a life for himself. He lived in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Phoenix before finally settling in Las Vegas, NV. For many years he worked in hospitality at the Showboat Casino where he met some of his best friends. Harriet, Shana, and Beverly would be his “besties” for the rest of his life. Each contributed to his daily joy and he loved them dearly. His partner Victor, was part of Robert’s life journey before Victor passed away in the early 1990’s. In 2005, fate and bad news came calling again. The casino where he worked for many years suddenly closed. He found work at another casino but after two months–before he was able to get health insurance, he collapsed at work. The discovery was chilling–stage 4 esophageal cancer and atrial fibrillation. While he recovered from the cancer and treatment, in 2008 he developed pneumonia and through a series of mishaps while in the hospital, he had a bilateral stroke. Still and yet, after being in a coma for 5 weeks, he surprised us all and opened his eyes and came back. Because the level of care that he needed was extreme, Bob and his family decided it was best to move to Denver where he could have the love and support of his family. While he needed a high level of assistance and lived in a care facility, he carved out a meaningful life for himself. His ever-active mind and bright intellect served his constant curiosity, his quest to know more, seek answers to life’s complex problems, from politics, to climate, to human relationships. The computer became his best friend and he embraced it like a lover. His room became his sanctuary, complete with a small refrigerator, a “whopper chopper,” a blender and wires everywhere– leading in a convoluted circuit to his TV, his TVO and his ear phones. his computer. It was a veritable maze that only he knew the secrets of. One was again reminded of the saying “like father, like son.” He had a special way with words and wrote long and thoughtful essays on many subjects, some funny, some very serious. You always knew what he thought of things! Bob loved his family (sisters, nieces, nephews, and grand nieces and nephews) and had, as only a son can have, a most special and close relationship with his mother. Indeed, when his sisters teased him for being mom’s favorite, he always smiled and said, “yes, I am.” Bob was only five when older sisters, O’Bera and Julie, left home. His “at home sister”, Tracy was four years older and the two of them shared a growing up completely different than Julie and O’Bera. The older girls were born in Texas and lived many places before coming to Grand Junction. Tracy was born in Bethesda, MD, but moved to Grand Junction as a young child. Of the four siblings, Bob was the only one born and raised in Grand Junction. Bob had many health challenges the last 12 years of his life and bravely and gracefully met them head on. He loved his family and always looked forward to family gatherings on holidays, coffee and lunch with his sister, Julie and niece, Shawna. He appreciated the care and concern of his caregivers at Hallmark and while he was often frustrated by his limitations, he tried to not take it out on the people who made his life easier. He loved his coffee strong, 3 sugars, 3 creamers. He loved old movies and vintage TV shows–Rockford Files and Gun Smoke especially. He was an avid reader, biographies of important people in history, as well as magazines, journals, old & new news stories, anything and everything. He was a notorious night owl and would often send Facebook messages in the early hours of the morning. Early on the morning of January 20, 2019 Bob quietly and without drama had a fatal cardiac arrest. He will be greatly missed and lovingly remembered for his wit, (the guy was funny,) his genuinely brilliant writings, his compassion for all and his love of family and friends. NOTE: This memory was written by his sister, Julie. Please share your memories of Robert or Bob as you knew him. It will be a comfort to his family to know we all shared a part of this wonderful man.