We have lost one of our CrossFit family, Bob Bitner. We are so sad to say that he suffered from a massive heart attack last night (Friday 2/25/11) and passed away after a long effort to revive him by his wife Colleen and the paramedics who arrived in 3 minutes. He is survived by Colleen and their 3 children pictured below.
Bob and Colleen came to CrossFit in the summer of 2009 and immediately became family. Bob had extensive physical obstacles to overcome. He shocked his doctors and physical therapists by exceeding even their greatest expectations. You can read a blog post about this here: http://crossfitgeorgetown.blogspot.com/2009/11/bobs-progress.html
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A great man left us yesterday and he will be so very missed. CrossFit Georgetown is praying for Colleen, their children and anyone suffering from his loss…we imagine it is many. We are so grateful he was a part of our lives and know we were enriched by it.
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Funeral services are being arranged for this week, most likely for Wednesday. We will update the blog and our FB page with details for any who wish to attend.
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RIP--Bob, my friend and fellow lover of fine wine. I hope there are no kettlebells in heaven to taunt you. But if there are….just do it. I mean, you can do anything for…. :) Love, Ginger xo
Ginger, you made me cry .... thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteColleen….I didn't mean to make you cry. {{{HUG}}}
ReplyDeleteYou and Bob, and your family, mean the world to us. Our hearts are sick over this. You know Bob is shaking his head at me with my 'you can do anything….' He cracked me up every day and tried to find ways to make him shake his head and give me that little sideways smile of his.
We LOVE you!
Ginger
Ginger called me today with the news about Bob. It tore me in half, Bob was one hell of a man...he was an inspiration and a friend. My best moments in the past 2 years have come when Bob barked at me to become better than I thought I was. He made me a better man.
ReplyDeleteBut above all Bob carried his love of family above all. The way he looked at Colleen. The smiles they shared. When Bob didn't want to go, Colleen did. When Colleen didn't want to go, Bob dragged them both in. On the group workouts their children showed up...and they put up.
Bob was intense. Calm and quiet, but intense and consistent like the sea. He could dissolve and erode the biggest of obstacles with his calm, that quiet wit. Our northern star.
I am a better man for knowing Bob. I hope he was glad to know me. God shouldn't have taken him from us this early. But we all must do our duty, we have to carry on his memory. His dry wit. The way he could intimidate those who didn't know him, but how he embraced and loved those he knew. His love of family. The fact that he forgot more about history than I will ever know. His laugh and smile....look at his boys in the picture above and you will know his smile.
Bob, you were my friend. I am pissed off you left us way before your time. You were a GREAT man. May you rest in peace knowing that your family and friends carry the best parts of you. That will be passed on their children so that you are never gone and the best parts of you will always carry on.
I am a better man for having known you.
josh