In Memoriam: Bob Dickerson Died Without Regrets

Jun 2, 2015

It is with great sorrow that we acknowledge the recent passing of one of our founding members, Bob Dickerson.  Bob fought cancer for fifteen years and finally lost that battle.  But he didn’t die with regrets.  And that is because he lived his values, contributing to others and to the planet in every way.   In his last year of life, Bob wrote a letter he entitled “Death Without Regrets”, which stated in part: 

I think that few of us consider the impact of our daily activities on the final accounting anyone might render at the time of our death. Because I have had cancer for more than 15 years now, I have had a lot of time to think about this. 

…  I quit my job.  I didn’t want to fall over dead at my desk.  I had belonged to RESULTS for a little over ten years then, and I resolved to live my life as fully as I could.  In light of the fact that over 40,000 of our brothers and sisters on the planet were dying from diseases that were mostly preventable and treatable, I decided to do all that I could, under RESULTS’ tutelage, to bring that number down. 

…  The truth is, we ARE all one family, and to paraphrase what Ben Franklin said, we [in the human race] can either CHOOSE to hang together or we will hang separately. 

Today, with the much smaller number of kids dying every day, we are still called on to take action.  How would you like to arrive at the end of your life, and have someone ask you, “hey, what did you do while you were on earth?”  Will you be satisfied to share that you watched hours of TV and enjoyed some cool vacations?  

…  For me, I don’t think I will ever be satisfied until we end injustices like that.”  

Bob asked each of us not to sit on the bleachers and watch a historic opportunity to make a difference pass us by.  Bob lived what he preached.  His life was a model of what one man can do, and the ripples he created will disperse in time and place to make a positive difference.  

Here is what RESULTS had to say upon Bob’s death: 

Bob epitomized the best of what RESULTS is and what we can be—in our communities and the world. He was an inspiration, a leader, a dedicated ally, and an incredibly generous friend. … Bob was passionate, generous, and relentless in his love for others and his commitment to leaving the world a better place. And he did leave the world a better place.  He stopped at nothing when it came to standing up for the rights of children. For more than two decades, he played an immeasurable role in dozens of successful campaigns to increase access to education, protect kids against leading killer diseases, and create a more equitable and just world where every family has a chance to thrive. 

If you would like to honor Bob, we recommend a donation to RESULTS.  To learn more about that, please check it out at www.results.org.