He was 67 years old. Bob was preceded in death by his father, Joseph Thomas Vomaske and his mother, Betty May Vomaske. He is survived by his beloved wife, Linda Vomaske, and their son, Guy Seguele as well as two children, Michael Joseph (Tari) and Jennifer Elizabeth (Thomas) from a previous marriage. He is also survived by two grandchildren, Jennifer’s daughter and son, Josephine Elizabeth and Jacob Matti. Bob was born in Seattle, Washington, April 23, 1952. He pursued a career in computer science. His first job was coding for Nordstrom. He later went to work at PACCAR (where his dad worked) in his field of study, computer technology. He was given the opportunity to go into management at Hewlett-Packard where he later met the love of his life, Linda. They married July 21, 1995. In early 1998 his career brought him to Fort Collins, Colorado. After nearly 24 years with HP, Bob left in 2003 to become an entrepreneur. Together he and Linda built a small technology company, specializing in performance analysis services. While building their company, Bob and Linda found their joy and passion in serving others through Missions Outreach with Timberline Church. Their first medical mission was to Sophia, Bulgaria, in 2001. They worked together in the Optical Clinic. At the end of the 3-day clinic, an elderly woman was brought in wearing “coke bottle” like glasses. After measuring her eyes, it was determined they didn’t have glasses strong enough for her to read her bible or do her sewing. They went through the motions of fitting her with the strongest eyeglasses they had, knowing full well it would not be enough. The woman opened her bible and started reading. Tears started flowing down her cheeks, she was so happy to be able to read and sew again. They had witnessed a true miracle of God, for these eyeglasses were extremely underpowered for what she required. This experience changed Bob’s life forever. It fueled his desire to serve others and deepened his faith. Once their passion was ignited, Bob and Linda served in medical missions outreach all over the world. Of all the countries they ministered in, their hearts were captured by the people of Guatemala and they served there over the next 15 years. Bob was also heavily involved with Christ in the Rockies, an organization that ministers to fathers and sons. He served as a Board member, was the head chef for the two camps every year, and gave his testimony during one of the workshops. He facilitated many of the outdoor activities between the fathers and sons with the goal of creating opportunities for bonding experiences. Other ministries Bob was involved with included marriage ministries at Timberline Church and hospitality at Genesis Project. Additionally, through their small business, Bob donated IT services to Partners Mentoring Youth, an organization that ministers to at-risk kids. He and Linda also hosted several exchange students through Linda’s Rotary Club. They came from all over the word…Argentina, Chile, Germany, India, Spain, and Thailand. These students usually stayed in their home 3-4 months. They were also a host family with The Matthews House, another organization that ministers to at-risk kids. It was through this organization Val Salumu came into their lives. Although born in France, his parents immigrated from The Congo. While in the U.S. Val found himself homeless and was placed in the Vomaske home. He was under their care and guidance for four years. Val has often said that if it wasn’t for Bob’s mentorship, he never would have made it through high school. Bob has always had a unique sense of humor. He was the first to laugh at his own jokes…and sometimes the only one to laugh! But that never stopped him. He went right on telling them and soon they affectionately became known as “Bobisms”. Skiing was a big part of Bob and Linda’s life together. They were volunteer ski patrollers at Ski Acres at Snoqualmie Pass in Washington state. Bob often brought his kids along for the weekend. His son, Mike, started early in emulating his dad’s mischievous nature. He would loft snowballs at the patrollers, especially his dad, as they came out of the patroller building. His daughter, Jen, was inspired by these experiences and later served as a volunteer ski patroller herself. In Colorado, Steamboat Springs was their second home. There they skied, hiked, biked, rafted, dined, and imbibed. They enjoyed everything outdoors. Bob was so in love with his wife, Linda. They were rarely apart and did everything together…live, work, play, travel, volunteer. Whenever Bob was away from her (even just to the store), he always greeted her with a smile and a kiss. As well, Bob loved his children and loved being with them. He always loved listening to Jen play the piano. He involved her in many of his home improvement projects. When her mother would complain that a 6-year-old shouldn’t be messing with the plumbing, Bob would just calmly point out that she fit under the sink better than him. Bob continued mentoring and working alongside Jen on projects into her adulthood. He also loved watching his son, Mike, play baseball. One of their favorite things to do together was fish. They conquered the rivers in British Columbia and beyond. They also enjoyed skiing together. Bob was a great coach for Mike, from baseball to skiing to sailing to career to marriage to being an entrepreneur and just life, in general. Mike valued his dad’s guidance and his “Bobisms”. Their son, Guy, who also came to them through The Matthews House, had a tight bond with Bob. He introduced him to fishing and, of course, Guy fell in love with the sport as much as his new dad. (Guy was orphaned at the age of 4 due to the guerilla warfare going on in his home country of Central African Republic.) Bob also taught him how to change the oil on his car and was always making sure anything that went wrong with it was immediately corrected. Guy loved his dad’s sense of humor and experienced it daily when he got home from work. They bantered back and forth and it would leave Guy laughing till he had to leave the room. Bob would tease him continually about Guy being the youngest member of the family with the newest and fanciest car. Bob was a man of God who lived his life with passion, purpose, and a generous dose of mischief. He had a servant’s heart and saw to it that his life counted for others. Even in his death, he is still changing lives—over 50+ people will have better lives because of his decision to be an organ donor. He will be forever missed.
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