Our beloved Brother Bob Lloyd fell asleep in Christ on December 14th 2015, just a few days after his 89th birthday. Bro. Bob was a wonderful blessing to all of us throughout his life in many ways. Some of his points and illustrations will stay with us forever. Most of us have had opportunities to hear Bob exhort and lecture and teach Bible classes. He had the unique ability to communicate effectively with everyone in the room, young and old, scholar and student. He was a diligent Bible student and he also worked very hard on learning how to present his messages in ways that everyone could relate to and remember. Who can forget his “Round Tuit” — a wooden disc he handed out with great enthusiasm. The stories we all can tell of his talks!
He shared his love for the Bible with brethren and sisters around the world. And many of them have communicated with the family over the last few days sharing loving memories and loving wishes for the family’s well-being during this difficult time.
Bro. Bob was the editor of The Tidings magazine from 1958 until 1988, a period of 30 years. He took over from Bro. Carl Wolfe at that point. The predecessor for The Tidings was a publication called “The Junior Christadelphian”. Bro. Bob actually wrote his first article for that publication in February 1942 during World War II entitled “Fear and War.” He was around 13 years old.
From 1988 on, Bob wrote a brief article that appeared in the last pages of every magazine (except the special issues) called “Minute Meditations”. He had previously written similar articles as editorials starting with the second issue of his editorship, and they were subsequently collected in a book called “Minute Meditations”, which is now in its tenth edition. We highly recommend it: reading one a day will prove very rewarding. He continued doing this all his life as the editorship was passed forward from Bro. Don Styles, Bro. George Booker and now to Bro. Peter Hemingray. In fact his last article was submitted before his death and appears in this edition. “Minute Meditations” are brief exhortational thoughts for the day that literally take a minute or two to read.
I was Bob’s business partner for 40 years as well as his brother in Christ. All of us on Sunday morning are on our best behavior and we are all in what will probably be our spiritual high point for the week. Our guest speakers at Bible Schools know that they are teaching by their words and in their example as they discuss Scriptures with the brethren and sisters during the week. Daily life is a bit different. When you are in business together day in and day out and trying to come to grips with situations that are difficult and do not present clear black or white alternatives the decisions you take manifest who you are. Bob never drove the car too close to the edge of the cliff. He was upright in all his dealings. Bob always made sure our client knew what wasn’t covered as well as what was covered. The underwriting information he submitted to the companies was the whole picture. The Bob you saw on Sunday was the Bob I had the privilege of working with every day.
Bob was only conscious for a few hours after his stroke. We are thankful he did not suffer. His health was never good and over the years he had already experienced the frailties of this mortal existence. His confident belief in the promise of the coming Kingdom always filled him with hope and kept him going. His next conscious moment will be at his resurrection. We pray that he, and all of us, will find grace in that day and be granted immortality.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One