Monday, February 28, 2011

Bob (IllinoisGuy)Thomas : July 29, 1945 - February 12, 2011

I'm sorry to inform our readers and members at Right Speak, that IG has passed away. Bob or IG to those on the Blogs Right Speak, Rightosphere, Race42012, and Mitt Romney Central passed away on February 12. Here is his obituary:
ARGENTA - Robert Wayne Thomas, age 65, died on February 12, 2011 at Decatur Memorial Hospital at 12:21pm. Born July 29, 1945 in Taylorville, IL, to William (Dub) Thomas and Roberta (Hobbs) Thomas, he graduated from Mt. Auburn High School in 1963. Robert served two years in the United States Marine Corp and received honors as a Platoon Honorman and Expert Rifleman. He later attended Richland Community College and Sangamon State University. He also taught at Richland Community College. He lived in Blue Mound, IL, Decatur, IL, and most recently, Argenta, IL with his sister and caretaker, Cheryl Willenborg. He retired from Caterpillar after over 30 years of service. Robert had been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1976. Robert will be especially remembered for his love and passion for sports and his family. He immensely enjoyed watching competitive cycling and supporting his children and grandchildren in their sports endeavors. Survivors include children Shelly Seitz and Stephanie Richardson (Carrol) of Cerro Gordo, IL, daughters of Linda (Ealey) Born; Curtis Thomas of Fayetteville, GA; Michael Thomas (Aleath) of Sycamore, IL; and Julie Carter (Josh) of Wichita Falls, TX; children of Polly (Campbell) Thomas. He is also survived by brothers Leonard Thomas of Blue Mound, IL; James (Jimmy) Thomas of Centrailia, IL.; and sister Cheryl Willenborg (Ted) of Argenta, IL. Robert had 15 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Robert was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Diane. Services will be held at 10 am on Wednesday, February 16th, 2011 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3955 Lourdes Lane, Decatur, IL 62526. . Burial will be at Mt. Auburn Cemetery following the service. Visitation will be at the church on Tuesday, February 15th from 5-8 pm. Dawson & Wikoff Funeral Home, Mt. Zion is assisting the family with arrangements. Messages of condolences may be sent to the family at www.dawson-wikoff.com Special appreciation to Dr. Perdekamp for her diligent care in treating Robert's courageous battle with cancer. A special thank you to his sister, Cheryl Willenborg, whom cared for Robert for the last several months. Obituary written by family members. Online guest book at http://legacy.com/obituaries/herald-review/
Visit his Guest Book.

On a personal note,

IG was one of the bravest men I've ever known. He fought a brave fight against his cancer, never giving into it. He used to say that commenting on the blogs, helped him relax while he fought the battle.

It was IG that inspired me to write my first blog entry. Both of us had talked about posting something on Rightosphere. I emailed him a draft of my piece and he liked it and told me to go for it. Since that day, I haven't stopped. I know I will miss his sharp wit on issues.

God Bless you my friend and may you rest in peace.

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rest in Peace Mr. Thomas. I'm glad that I had the chance to meet you.


Bill

Anonymous said...

Sorry to see IG go. I was unaware of his fight and knowing this, I know he is in a better place and at peace.

Bobinator

Anonymous said...

What a shame...it seems like I was just arguing with him about MassCare.

He always added a lot to the discussion.

We didn't always agree but I know I respected his input on a lot of issues. I'd like to think he respected mine once in a while as well...of course if he didn't...he wasn't bashful about telling me.

RIP

jerseyrepublican

Anonymous said...

To add...I never saw a picture of IG...but that is almost exactly how I imagined he looked.

jerseyrepublican

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry to hear this. I had been wondering for a couple of weeks where IG was and had figured that his cancer had taken a turn for the worse. I'll really miss him around these blogs.

Jeff Fuller said...

He will be missed. Glad he was there to spur you on Bosman. He lives through you! I did get to meet him in Iowa in 2008 . . . solid guy.

Granny T said...

Sorry to hear that. :(

Noelle said...

I am so sorry to hear about the death of Illinois Guy. He was a gentleman and always had a good way of expressing his point of view. I will miss reading his thoughts. Rest in peace.

Doug NYC GOP said...

Very sad to hear of this news.

IG was a very nice man and he was always encouraging.

He was a passionate fighter for what he believed in and second only to being a true gentleman, is a nice way to be remembered.

Peace to you, my friend and to your family.

Doug

Revolution 2012 said...

IG was a class act!

I can remember over at ROS when people were dropping like flies, he was one of the first to complain OUT LOAD that those bannings were unjust, never worrying about his own status.

God Bless you and your family. Rest in Peace.

TexasConservative said...

So sorry to hear about IG losing his fight against cancer. I pray for peace and comfort for his family. I know that IG is in a better place, free from pain and seeing the light of Jesus.

Ellie said...

I will miss you, Bob. You were a wise and good friend.

Jonathan said...

Very sorry to hear about this. Bob will be missed.

Right Wingnut said...

I will also miss IGuy. Though we didn't agree on Romney vs. Palin, we were pretty much lock-step on the issues. We had a lot of spirited debates, but never held a grudge over our disagreements.

Rest in peace

Anonymous said...

I remember reading his posts on race42012. Nice man. I liked him.

C_of_D

Pablo said...

I always liked IG. He had a lot of passion considering that he was fighting for his life. It really goes to show you that a lot of the fighting that we do on this site is probably not terribly important. I am sure that Bob affected a lot of people in a positive way as he has affected us here.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe this happened. I only knew him from this site and ROS, but I feel like I know him personally. This is so sad, I always assumed he'd be around to watch the primaries with and election with....
Zaloom

Ann said...

This is very sad news. He was such a gentleman. I to had wondered why he had not been around.

God Bless IG and his family.

Anonymous said...

Bob, you are a special man and great friend. I wish I had known you in person. You were always so wonderful to me. Thank you. I will miss you so much.

-Martha

Anonymous said...

I only knew IG for a short time since I started commenting on RS but I always knew he was a good man. We didn't agree about who we supported for the GOP nomination but I always admired how he would go toe to toe with myself, Jersey, Right Wingnut and Ohio Joe and would never flinch. Rest in Peace Bob.

A.J.R.

Matt "MWS" said...

Prayers for IllinoisGuy and his family. I quit smoking a little over 5 weeks ago, and decided then to offer up whatever “suffering” that entailed for him.

It looks like he lead a life of service. God bless him and his family.

Matt "MWS" said...

Bos,

It sounds like you knew Mr. Thomas in "real life"?

Right Wingnut said...

I actually recall my last exchange with IGuy. he claimed Palin was putting social issues on the back burner, and I responded by reminding him of Romney's support for the gay pride parade in MA. LOL. That was the typical exchange, but it was good, clean fun. I almost asked if anyone had heard from him the other day, but didn't get around to it.

Bill589 said...

It sure sounds like he was a good man.
God Bless him and his family.

Anonymous said...

This news is very sad. IG was always fun to chat with. He used to comment every once and awhile about his cancer. I had no idea it was this far advanced.

I'm a Romney supporter but IG was probably the most steadfast Romney supporter I have ever known.

God Bless him and his family.

zeke

Matt "MWS" said...

I think this might have been IG's last comment on this site, one week before he passed:

illinoisguy said...
SImply encyclopedic! Nobody I know other than military strategist themselves could talk with such clarity and reasoning as this. I only wish some of Mitt detractors fully knew him, instead they choose to fight against him.
February 7, 2011 6:33 PM

http://www.rightspeak.net/2011/02/mitt-romney-at-foreign-policy.html#comments

Right Wingnut said...

Thanks Matt. My last exchange was on the 10th, but that was in the chat box. Those comments are gone.

BOSMAN said...

Matt,

"It sounds like you knew Mr. Thomas in "real life"?"

I wish I had.

Our friendship started with ROS. We exchanged emails and our friendship grew from there.

I wish I had actually met Bob. I know we would have been good friends.

I found out about his death because I to was worried about him not being around at RS, Race, and MRC. I had emailed him a few times with no response.

Today, for some reason, I thought the worse and Googled his name and town. That's how I found out.

Matt "MWS" said...

Bos,

Perhaps you could send links to his loved ones from this thread and the one on Race so that they could know he was well thought of here?

Dave said...

Bosman,

Thanks so much for mentioning this over at Race42012. If you hadn't I might never have known what happened to I-Guy.

I feel like I've lost a close friend.

Jonathan said...

I think it's fitting folks from all sides of our debates are talking about what a gentleman he was.

It seems to me to be an appropriate tribute to him.

J said...

I-guy was awesome. While he was battling cancer, he remained supportive of me as I studied for both the California and Utah bar.

He thought less about himself and was more concerned about others.

That is the mark of a truly great man.

Corep said...

IG will be missed. He got me going over at race42008, then rightosphere, and now here. He had a passion and was happy to share it with all.

i think that i need to spend more time commenting in honor of his love for Romney. the least i can do.

class act and always a kind word for me in the emails and chats we shared.

BOSMAN said...

Matt,

Thanks for the suggestion. I've left both links on the Guest Book. I hope they will allow it through to the family.

Bob also had a Facebook page. some photos, etc.

Jeff Fuller said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jeff Fuller said...

Dug out a photo of me with IG from 2008.

He will be missed!

BOSMAN said...

Thanks Jeff for sharing your story on IG.

Jayde Wyatt has a very moving memorial post up on MRC for IG.

hamaca said...

His friendly battles at this and other sites seem to be indicative of how he fought the other challenges in his life--with toughness, love, and compassion.

His presence will be missed.

OhioJOE said...

He will be missed by all camps. May GOD Bless his soul.

Deg said...

I want to cry for this good man. My heart goes out to him and his family. This should be posted at all the regular sites he visited. His efforts in promoting Romney for POTUS will be greatly missed. He did this out of the patriotic love he had for his country and fellow man. God bless, he deserves it.

-Deg

Anonymous said...

I also missed I-guy and hoped that it wasn't his cancer. I am sorry to hear of his passing. May you rest in peace, I-guy.

I knew about his battle with cancer, and I believe this was the second time around for him. I admired his courage and the passion which he took to the fight. When he asked for our prayers and his name to be placed on the temple prayer rolls, I was happy to participate. I know that our prayers have been heard and answered, although he won't be here to celebrate the 2012 elections with us. I'm sure that God has a purpose in bringing I-guy Home at this time.

I think I-guy was the most passionate Romney supporter I have ever witnessed. He seems to have lived his life with that same passion. I will remember his passion for life and try to learn from it as my remembrance of him.

AZ

P.S. Matt, MWS, prayers for you as you stop smoking. I hear it is very difficult to do, but I think it's a GREAT thing to do! Best wishes.

Anonymous said...

Bosman, you're such a class act. I appreciate you caring enough to go searching for IG. If not for you, none of us would have known.

Thanks.

Martha

Anonymous said...

I am I-guy's daughter, Stephanie. I just want to say thank you for all of the nice things said about our dad on here. He was a very passionate supporter of Mitt Romney, as you all know. I'm sure you all know, as well, that he was battling renal cell carcinoma that had metastasized first to his tibia and lungs and then onto his radius. He fought a courageous battle with this horrible disease but becuase of the chemo, was unable to recover from a heart attack on Feb 12.

I am amazed at how well you all seem to know him but everything said is accurate! He loved his family deeply and was a true gentleman. He is greatly missed.....

Anyway, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate all of dad's cyber friends on here and all of the kind words.

Anonymous said...

Stephane,

I am very sorry for your loss. We all enjoyed conversing with IG and I miss seeing him around here. I hope you and your family are all doing well.

A.J.R.

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