Obituary for Robert Bernard Redo
Robert Bernard Redo 82 of Mountainburg passed away Thursday, September 12, 2019 in a local hospital. He was a self- employed saddle maker and of the Christion Faith. He was preceded in death by his parents, Rafael Redo and Charlotte (Reardon) Gerogevich; his brother Ralph Redo and his sister Charlotte Sue Redo.
A celebration of life memorial service will be at 10:00 AM Friday, September 20, 2019 at Ocker Memorial Chapel Van Buren under the direction of Ocker Funeral Home Van Buren. Please come donned in western or old west attire.
He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Redo of the home; two daughters Darcy Ruiz and husband Antonio Ruiz of Mountainburg and Judith Thomas of Daytona, Florida; three sons Richard and Robert Redo both of Mountainburg, Christopher Kackley of Hagerstown, Maryland; one sister Darcy Lynn Roy of Frisco TX; two brothers Ralph C. Redo of Fayetteville, Stan Gerogevich of Wantagh, NY; seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
Robert B. Redo, known to all as Bob, was truly a memorable man. Although born in Bayside, Queens, New York in 1936, he was destined to be a cowboy. Hack stables were plentiful then. During his youth there were more horses per capita on Long Island, New York than in the state of Texas.
He and his brother Ralph grew up a Chick’s Riding Stable which had 150 or more horses. These horses were often purchased from Ned Smith out of Fort Smith, Arkansas and shipped by rail to New York. The horses were then trucked to the stable. Upon arrival all the teenage boys there would jump up on them to find out which ones were broke to ride and safe enough to rent out.
Bob went on to learn from some of the great trainers. Petey Neu, who trained Smokey the wonder horse (appeared in the drunk scene of Cat Ballou with Lee Marvin), was a close friend. Bob studied with numerous talented trainers. He opened and operated boarding and training stables in Long Island. He specialized in problem horses. His all-time favorite past time was calf roping. He became a top pleasure horse trainer with championships at the Quarter Horse Congress and Florida Gold Coast. He also rode bulls across the country for a short time.
Bob moved to California to be nearer to his father in the sixties and was under contract with MGM studios. He worked on several films including McClintock. In the scene where the horse was roped and dropped to the ground, Bob was that stunt man. Pat Wayne, John’s son, and Bob became friends sharing many lunches together.
In his travels he lived and worked at the Charles Town, West Virginia racetrack as an assistant trainer and in the receiving barn. When a trainer had an especially unruly horse headed to a race, Bob was the number one person they called for assistance. Although he always said he was semi-retired there, he continued to haul and shoe horses in addition to working at the track. While there he also organized and helped found the Tri-State Horsemen’s Association which covered the entire Del-Mar-Va area.
In 1984 he met his wife Kim at a local feed supply store. She had come in from Wyoming to finalize a divorce and had no interest beyond the summer job, divorcing and heading back to the mountains…Alone. But Bob fell instantly in love with her. This marked the beginning of over 35 years together.
In their many moves to find their niche, Bob was instrumental in forming the Southern Utah Horsemen’s Association which evolved into one the largest in the state. At the time he was apprentice saddle making under master craftsman Val Holyoak in St. George, Utah and managing a paint horse ranch so that Kim could complete a college education. Following her graduation, they moved to Weatherford, Texas and he set up a saddle shop. This quickly became the local cowboy hangout. He worked on equipment for untold numbers of great cowboys, cutters, and even trick trainer Tommy Lucia.
His travels led him to Arkansas to be closer to family while in a haven of horse activity. During his time here he helped hundreds, if not thousands, of not only aspiring horsemen but also numerous top horsemen seeking his advice. He donated thousands of volunteer hours to the Crawford County 4-H Horse Talk club and was a founding member and builder of the Crawford County Fairgrounds arena.
With the advent of Cowboy Mounted Shooting he jumped in feet first and became one of the sport’s biggest proponents. After talking his wife into trying the sport he coached her to numerous national and world titles. His one wish was that the sport had been created when he had been young enough to do more winning. He truly was born a master horseman and coach. As he and Kim traveled, he never met a stranger.
Bob served proudly for many years in a variety of functions for the Crawford County Sheriff’s department. He never hesitated to serve whenever Sheriff Bob Ross needed assistance in the Criminal Investigations Division with any task from investigation to routine phone calls. As a young man, Bob worked with the Nassau County Long Island police as well.
Bob loved the old west. A driving and avid member of the wild west reenactment group “The Lawbreakers and Peacemakers” he, along with all his outlaw buddies, shared Fort Smith history to locals, state lawmakers and other dignitaries and worldwide visitors.
He supported his wife in every one of her endeavors. One of the most comical and noble deeds was his portrayal as “eye candy” in the Frilly Filly calendar project. These annual calendars were constructed and distributed nationwide with all proceeds going to benefit injured cowboy mounted shooters in need.
His love of family surpassed all of his accomplishments. Following a long term of estrangement from his first four children he was blessed to be reunited with all of them. He seldom missed a day telling his wife how proud he was of all five of his children: Judie, Ricky, Robby, Chris and Darcy. His love will transcend both time and miles forever more. Excepting his love of family his mantra for life was: “If you can have one good horse, one good friend, and one good dog, you are extremely lucky.” He had several of all three.
A celebration of life memorial service will be at 10:00 AM Friday, September 20, 2019 at Ocker Memorial Chapel Van Buren under the direction of Ocker Funeral Home Van Buren. Please come donned in western or old west attire.
He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Redo of the home; two daughters Darcy Ruiz and husband Antonio Ruiz of Mountainburg and Judith Thomas of Daytona, Florida; three sons Richard and Robert Redo both of Mountainburg, Christopher Kackley of Hagerstown, Maryland; one sister Darcy Lynn Roy of Frisco TX; two brothers Ralph C. Redo of Fayetteville, Stan Gerogevich of Wantagh, NY; seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
Robert B. Redo, known to all as Bob, was truly a memorable man. Although born in Bayside, Queens, New York in 1936, he was destined to be a cowboy. Hack stables were plentiful then. During his youth there were more horses per capita on Long Island, New York than in the state of Texas.
He and his brother Ralph grew up a Chick’s Riding Stable which had 150 or more horses. These horses were often purchased from Ned Smith out of Fort Smith, Arkansas and shipped by rail to New York. The horses were then trucked to the stable. Upon arrival all the teenage boys there would jump up on them to find out which ones were broke to ride and safe enough to rent out.
Bob went on to learn from some of the great trainers. Petey Neu, who trained Smokey the wonder horse (appeared in the drunk scene of Cat Ballou with Lee Marvin), was a close friend. Bob studied with numerous talented trainers. He opened and operated boarding and training stables in Long Island. He specialized in problem horses. His all-time favorite past time was calf roping. He became a top pleasure horse trainer with championships at the Quarter Horse Congress and Florida Gold Coast. He also rode bulls across the country for a short time.
Bob moved to California to be nearer to his father in the sixties and was under contract with MGM studios. He worked on several films including McClintock. In the scene where the horse was roped and dropped to the ground, Bob was that stunt man. Pat Wayne, John’s son, and Bob became friends sharing many lunches together.
In his travels he lived and worked at the Charles Town, West Virginia racetrack as an assistant trainer and in the receiving barn. When a trainer had an especially unruly horse headed to a race, Bob was the number one person they called for assistance. Although he always said he was semi-retired there, he continued to haul and shoe horses in addition to working at the track. While there he also organized and helped found the Tri-State Horsemen’s Association which covered the entire Del-Mar-Va area.
In 1984 he met his wife Kim at a local feed supply store. She had come in from Wyoming to finalize a divorce and had no interest beyond the summer job, divorcing and heading back to the mountains…Alone. But Bob fell instantly in love with her. This marked the beginning of over 35 years together.
In their many moves to find their niche, Bob was instrumental in forming the Southern Utah Horsemen’s Association which evolved into one the largest in the state. At the time he was apprentice saddle making under master craftsman Val Holyoak in St. George, Utah and managing a paint horse ranch so that Kim could complete a college education. Following her graduation, they moved to Weatherford, Texas and he set up a saddle shop. This quickly became the local cowboy hangout. He worked on equipment for untold numbers of great cowboys, cutters, and even trick trainer Tommy Lucia.
His travels led him to Arkansas to be closer to family while in a haven of horse activity. During his time here he helped hundreds, if not thousands, of not only aspiring horsemen but also numerous top horsemen seeking his advice. He donated thousands of volunteer hours to the Crawford County 4-H Horse Talk club and was a founding member and builder of the Crawford County Fairgrounds arena.
With the advent of Cowboy Mounted Shooting he jumped in feet first and became one of the sport’s biggest proponents. After talking his wife into trying the sport he coached her to numerous national and world titles. His one wish was that the sport had been created when he had been young enough to do more winning. He truly was born a master horseman and coach. As he and Kim traveled, he never met a stranger.
Bob served proudly for many years in a variety of functions for the Crawford County Sheriff’s department. He never hesitated to serve whenever Sheriff Bob Ross needed assistance in the Criminal Investigations Division with any task from investigation to routine phone calls. As a young man, Bob worked with the Nassau County Long Island police as well.
Bob loved the old west. A driving and avid member of the wild west reenactment group “The Lawbreakers and Peacemakers” he, along with all his outlaw buddies, shared Fort Smith history to locals, state lawmakers and other dignitaries and worldwide visitors.
He supported his wife in every one of her endeavors. One of the most comical and noble deeds was his portrayal as “eye candy” in the Frilly Filly calendar project. These annual calendars were constructed and distributed nationwide with all proceeds going to benefit injured cowboy mounted shooters in need.
His love of family surpassed all of his accomplishments. Following a long term of estrangement from his first four children he was blessed to be reunited with all of them. He seldom missed a day telling his wife how proud he was of all five of his children: Judie, Ricky, Robby, Chris and Darcy. His love will transcend both time and miles forever more. Excepting his love of family his mantra for life was: “If you can have one good horse, one good friend, and one good dog, you are extremely lucky.” He had several of all three.