From the June 2019 Issue of ShowSight. Click to subscribe.
FOUNDER’S PAGE
My Mother called it the curse of a big family.
At some point you start to lose those close to you, and the hits just keep on coming. Hits to the heart. Hits to the head. And in the case of our dog family, hits to the sport and the pastime we hold dear. Not to mention the future health of everything we love.
I chose the photo above to illustrate. Pictured are three of the fancy’s most vibrant, vital gentlemen, guys who have given so much. Bob Smith, Joe Gregory and Gene Blake are inspirational and irreplaceable. Unfortunately, now their number, numbers two.
Dr. Robert D. Smith, on the left as if you didn’t recognize him, left us on May 25th. Well, he didn’t leave us; he was taken by force. The man that survived the cancer that cost an arm—a devastating occurrence for lesser mortals but one which didn’t hold him back one bit—died as the result of an auto accident. To have gone through so much, and remain smiling, only to end like this is indeed heartbreaking. I cannot imagine the pain for our beloved Polly, his wife, sounding board and partner for fifty-eight years, his son Stuart (Janice), his grandchildren Denise Smith and Kristen Pearson, and numerous nieces and nephews.
I plan to run a longer tribute to this great man soon, for there’s much to tell, much to learn, much to celebrate. And even more to mourn.
The charming photo by Julie Mueller of these three superstars belongs on everyone’s wall. I know it will remain in my head, now, for all time. As will Bob.
Bob’s undimmable spirit remains undimmed, even by death. He gave us tools and rules and smiles. What a great man. What a great couple. What can we say to Polly except that we send our love?
Polly, we send our love. Turn to any or all of us in this time or any time should you have needs. You’ve been there, always, for us. We’ll be there for you.
From the Executive Editor Emeritus
Joseph Neil McGinnis III
Joseph Neil McGinnis III
Founder, ShowSight Magazine
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