By Gerri Miller
Elmore/Autauga News
If ever someone embodied the essence of Millbrook, it was Bob Headrick. Bob went to be with his Savior last week and his death has left a hole in the heart and soul of our town.
I met Bob and his beautiful wife June when we became members of Millbrook First United Methodist Church. He was a kind and gentle man who brought both joy and laugher to our lives.
I became especially close with this precious couple when my daughter Marissa was sick with a brain tumor. We were trying to get her to a surgeon in Melbourne, Australia, who was the only one doing the type of surgery she needed.
Both Mr. Bob and Mrs. June helped with many fundraisers and Mr. Bob even created a website for us so that we could communicate with everyone while we were in Melbourne. I can’t tell you how much this website helped us spiritually as we read about the prayer vigils and other events taking place back home. It was truly our lifeline to our friends, church family and loved ones.
I always knew Christmas was coming soon when I saw Mr. Bob growing out his hair and his beard. He was the resident Santa Claus who all the children in Millbrook grew to love. December was always the busiest month for them because their calendars would be full almost every single day with a Christmas event. They were a true reflection of the Spirit of Christmas.
I will never forget a shopping trip we took to Eastdale Mall during the Christmas season back in the mid 90’s. I stopped to let four-year-old Marissa see the Santa there. When she reached his lap, she told him in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t the real Santa Claus.
“The real Santa lives in Millbrook and his name is Bob,” she said firmly. As my children grew, Mr. Bob and Mrs. June became family.
Before he was Santa, Mr. Bob served his country in the United States Air Force for six years and retired from Civil Service after 36 years. He and Mrs. June moved to Millbrook in the 1960’s before it was incorporated as a city. I didn’t know until his death that he worked with the efforts to incorporate Millbrook. He was proud of his city and had the kind of community spirit that makes it shine.
He served in the Millbrook Volunteer Fire Department and was one of the first Emergency Medical Technicians trained in Alabama. He was a member of the Millbrook Men’s Club, where he helped organize the annual barbecue for the Men’s Club that is now a staple for the community.
Mr. Bob served on the Memorial Center Board and was instrumental in the creation of the Memorial Center/ Village Green complex in Millbrook. He loved model trains and had tracks set up in his home. Mrs. June told me that when she married him, he had a model that filled up three sides of a 12 x 12 bedroom.
After the couple got engaged to be married, Mrs. June visited the train room and found it to be empty. He had taken a chainsaw and sawed the frame into pieces so that he could get it out of the door. She said she knew right then that he really loved her.
His love for trains resulted from growing up in Nashville about a half a block from a train track. He always loved all kinds of trains and Mrs. June told me he wanted to ride one if the couple was close enough. “Every time we went on a trip, he would look for trains and train museums,” she said.
She said with the models what he loved best was designing and building the scenery. And of course, wouldn’t the real Santa love all things locomotive?
My sweet friend Joy Rogers said that “we have all lost a wonderful man, Santa Claus, friend and Christian. Our prayers are with you, June.”
Another wonderful friend who I also met during our quest to get to Australia, Jackie Baltzell, said it best when she said that Millbrook has lost a real icon to the families of this community.
“Bob was always where there was a need,” she said. “He and June will always be our first Mr. and Mrs. Claus! May Bob rest in peace and may June feel the love this town feels for her!”
I hope the community will wrap Mrs. June in their arms and let her know how much her Santa is missed. We love you both very much.
