14 FEBRUARY 2024 WorldWide Drilling Resource® ment to unseal his records, and he got a certified copy of his original birth certificate. He then knew his parents’ names, along with an address. In late 1942, before he shipped out, Leon traveled to his birth mother's home and rang the doorbell. A young adult answered (probably one of his siblings). He asked for his mother by name, but was told she died six months earlier. He was so heartbroken he couldn't speak and left without saying who he was. Leon would not make contact with his birth family again until he was in his 70s. Leon was in his 80s when we met. He had married late in life, did not have any children, and was raised an only child with a stern father. He was overjoyed to hear from me and said I was the first person from his birth family to acknowledge him. His siblings had denied he was related to them, but his birth certificate was proof enough for me. He was so grateful and happy to finally be accepted as a member of our family. He and I regularly wrote letters to each other and talked often on the phone for the remaining years of his life. I traveled to see him on three occasions, once with my wife and children. In one of his letters, he expressed great sorrow that he didn't know what his mother looked like. This got me to return to the hatbox of old family photographs. As a teenager, my grandfather was a shutterbug and took lots of those pictures. I scrutinized them and found five of the same woman. I then showed the photos to Cousin Maggi and she confirmed the woman in them was her grandmother. Next, I made an enlarged copy of each and mailed them to Uncle Leon. He phoned me, sobbing tears of joy as he thanked me over and over again. I told him I was happy, too, because I got to find out what my great-grandmother looked like and could also identify another unknown person in my photo collection. I was mainly happy to help Uncle Leon satisfy his lifelong dream. Two decades later, I understand even more how important belonging was to him because I would also love to see photos of my birth father and be accepted by his family. Robert Robert is an innovation/change speaker, author, and consultant. He works with companies that want to be more competitive through innovation and with people who want to think more creatively. Contact him via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com Wilson Cont’d from page 12. In Memoriam Robert Alan “Bob” Flores, Sr. (1957~2023) Robert Alan “Bob” Flores, Sr., 66, of Riverton, Wyoming, passed away on Friday, November 17, 2023. Born in Anaheim, California, he lived all over Wyoming before moving to Idaho in 1971, then returned to Wyoming in 1975. Bob began working in the mines of the Gas Hills, drilling shot holes at the age of 15. He then went on to seismograph drilling for 12 years continuing work in oil, drilling various types of wells for Nucor Drilling. He loved his line of work and was good at it. He married Molly, they had four children, then later divorced. His marriage to Amber produced one child before they too divorced. He then found the love of his life, Shelly, and they married in 2015. Bob loved fishing in all types of water, golfing, gambling on golf with his nephews, and was a pool enthusiast. Always the life of the party, his jokes and stories brought lots of laughter. His great-grandchildren loved his magic tricks, always going home asking their parents to check their ears for more candy. Bob will be missed by Shelly; sons Robert, Jr. and Roger; daughters Jenny, Mandi (Jonny), and Katrina (Gus); stepson Reichert (Heather); stepdaughters Rochelle (Torrey) and Chelsea; brothers Charles, Jr., Albert, Frank, and Ernest; sisters Gloria, Delores (Mike), Linda, Charlotte (Mike), Marlene, and Tresa (Ofrendo); brother-in-law Dennis; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. The WWDR Team tries its best to honor all of our lost loved ones. But try as we might, we can’t always find them ourselves. If you would like your recently departed loved one to be honored in WorldWide Drilling Resource® please send the informaton to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com
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