Guy Wills:
Well it has taken me awhile to say anything about Bob, I found out that he had died from the website. The last time I saw him must have been in the sixties, any way Bob was my first friend, our backyards were connected from age one till about 11 or so when his family moved down to north Hackensack, while their new home was being built in Oradell. I can remember like it was yesterday when Bob, Gene Mcaveney and I made a pact to join the Navy together and never get married.
Well I was the only one to join and the only one not to get married, ok so I got married when I was 43. I have alot of good memories of Bob, like everytime I hear Elvis or Buddy Holly, I dont know if I was teaching him about rock and roll or if he was teaching me. We both had older siblings which were about 3 years older so we were both on the cutting edge. Talk about his father, he loved his cars, he use to have a 50 pontiac, with the light in the indians head, tht was cool back in 52 or so. I also tell people even today that I had a friend whose team was the Washinton Senators, I did not know anyone else that liked them, now that was dedication, because everyone else were either Yankee fans or Dodger fans. The real Dodgers, not those west coast ones. A few Giant fans, but Bob stuck to his guns when it came to the Senators. Well I got to stop this could go on for hours, He was a good friend and my first.
Bob rest in peace
I remember Bob Grandy in Mr. Getty's class down the hall when all the 6th grade classes were consolidated into the 2nd floor wing of Roosevelt School overlooking the playground. Bob was always an easy going fun guy looking to have a good time and kidding around with Lee Bondy. One time at the old Fountain Bleu candy store big hangout when we were feuding with New Milford kids and they had thrown a rock thru the window one night and marched up Oradell Avenue, I remember riding in Pop's car with a few others to the shopping center in New Milford. Fortunately, we arrived a little late and kept on driving thru the lot as the police had a bunch of kids lined up in the bright lights in front of the grocery store. Bob and I became linked together one summer Saturday afternoon in 1962 when I was driving up Oradell Avenue from my landscaping job in Paramus and saw Bob and others visiting with Mike Piambo in his driveway with his hot car up on blocks. Just as I turned around and was parking my gray 1950 Plymouth in front as Bob was leaving, he accidentally slipped the gear shift below reverse into low and plowed into me. Bob talked me into driving to his house and with his dad we worked everything out. About the New Milford kids I remember one summer night at a block dance we had in the parking lot behind the Oradell Public Library across from the Fountain Bleu an Oradell police officer said to us that if we wanted to fight them so bad they would just lock us all into the tennis courts. Oh those were the days.
Blaine M. Pool
