Robert Anderson “Bob” Hawkins Jr., 85, of “Bob’s River Place”, Branford, Florida transitioned to his heavenly home on Friday, August 7, 2020 at 11:34pm. He was at his river house surrounded by his family after a tough battle with Cancer.
In 1934, Bob Hawkins was born in Greensboro, North Carolina to parents Robert Anderson Hawkins Sr. and Margaret Turner - Hawkins. Bob is Best Known for his adventurous “Swiss Family Robinson” type wild adventure creation, known as “Bob’s River Place”. Words from some of Bob’s facebook fans are: “he created a place that was magical”, “brought genuine joy to so many ”, “what he did for people is beyond words”, "an amazing soul”. Above all, he loved seeing how his creations put smiles on so many faces.
Bob was a Creative Entrepreneur with a larger than life imagination. In his early life , he learned architectural design, building, engineering skills, farming and horticulture from his dad, Robert A Hawkins Sr, who also taught him the family business “Hawkins Skating Rink”. So, in his 20s, Bob branched out to own multiple skating rinks of his own. In the early 1950s, he served as a paratrooper for the Army’s 82nd Airborne, where he also developed his culinary arts skills as a chef in the military. In the early 1960s he moved to Miami where he became a pilot, flying C-119s and owned and operated “Sunny Isles Boat Marina”.
As for sports, he was a skilled Skater, Water Skier, Scuba Diver, Rope Jumper and enjoyed boating. Bob was quite the daredevil and managed to survived a plane crash and a near fatal speed boating accident. He enjoyed cooking. Some of his favorites were fried potatoes, home made wine and german chocolate cake. Known for his generosity, fascinating stories, his cool and calm demeanor, cleverness, creativity, kind heart, smile and being a friend to all squirrels, he will be missed by so many!
He built, constructed and designed three houses; one in Naples, Florida, one in Arenal, Costa Rica and one on the Suwannee River, where “Bob’s River Place” was born. He had also been an active environmentalist in the beginnings of SOS (Save Our Suwannee) dedicated to keeping the Suwannee River Clean and Pristine.
His Costa Rica Project is today known as the popular vacation destination "Arenal Springs Villas by the Lake" where his architectural structures remain on site as well as his beautiful arch rock wall entrance, where many tourist have posed next to this arch wall to capture their memories.
