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Obituary For Bobby Gatewood
Bobby Gene Gatewood, affectionately known to close friends and family as “Bud” ascended peacefully on June 18, 2025, at Spartanburg Regional Hospital following complications from a recent stroke. Closing out a life marked by resilience, laughter, and the kind of warmth you often didn’t find. He was 87 years old.
Born in 1938 in South Carolina, Bobby lived filled with old-fashioned values, a solid work ethic and quiet devotion to the people he loved most. He spent forty years working as a certified commercial truck driver with Jonathan Logan, Butte Knit, and various other companies logging millions of miles with the kind of focus and tenacity only a man known over the “CB” airwaves as “Night Train” could carry. His voice crackling over the airwaves was familiar to drivers from coast to coast, always ready with a witty quip and a stout observance of the road ahead. However, his proudest role was being a loving husband, devoted father, caring grandfather, treasured great-grandfather, and lasting friend.
Bobby was married to the one person who cherished and adored him beyond measure, his beloved wife, Mamie Helen Gatewood. Their unwavering bond for 43 years was strong and steady. Their home was warm, welcoming, and filled with joy — a place where food was plenty, coffee was always brewing and the door always open.
He was a man of simple pleasures yet enjoyed quality products. Let’s just say generic brands were never his preferred choice. A piping hot good home-cooked meal — especially if it included a perfectly prepared steak, creamy potatoes, and lima beans were his favorites. Sundays often meant watching NASCAR on his big screen television with feet perched up on his recliner.
To know Bobby was to know someone who never met a stranger. He had the rare gift of connection, simply striking up conversations that somehow turned into stories with random individuals. He had a sense of humor that could disarm the most serious soul and a generous heart that gave without asking for anything in return.
Bobby is survived by his son Michael Gatewood (Marion), daughter Lisa Gatewood-McMillan (Cletis), 2 loving grandchildren, Carmicah Rice (Christopher) and Anticia Robinson (Marquez) and 3 great-grandchildren, Cannon, Christian, and Ethan along with many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his beloved daughter Sharon Gatewood Huff, and sister Gerline Davis and now joins them in peace. His endearing legacy continues to flourish in the lives of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who carry forward his strong spirit, quick wit, and love for life’s simple joys.
Funeral Services will be held on Sunday, June 29, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. at The John Stinson Woodward Memorial Chapel, 602 Howard St., Spartanburg, SC. Burial will be in the Good Shepherd Memorial Gardens. He will lie in state from 11:00am until the hour of service.
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Condolences & Tributes
Add A CondolenceMike and Family, truly sorry to her about your Father. My prayers and thoughts are with you. May God bless you all during this time.
Heartfelt condolences to the Gatewood family. May wonderful memories comfort you always!!
My condolences go out to my family members of Robert gatewood my prayers go out to you always may you find peace and comfort in the days ahead remember that God is good always and always God is good love you cousin peace be still your cousin Priscilla.
My sincere condolences to Michael and the entire Gatewood Family. I pray comfort for you during this time, as well as the days, weeks, months and years to come.
Zonya Brewton
"In the Pillar of Threads of Goodbyes," we're in remembrance to bid farewell to the centerpiece of your family, "Bobby Gatewood," a man whose presence held us together with threads of love, laughter, and adventure.
As we unravel the threads of our lives without him, we remember the countless ways he wove himself into our stories. His words of wisdom, his infectious laughter, and his unwavering support were the threads that strengthened our bonds and made us whole.
The threads of goodbye are bittersweet. They remind us of the pain of parting, but also of the beauty of the time we all shared and played a role into each other lives.
In the silence, we'll hear the echoes of his voice whispering words of encouragement. In the darkness, we'll see your father's light of his love shining bright. And in the emptiness, we'll find comfort in the threads of past memories we shared with him.
As we said our final threads of goodbyes, we took comfort in knowing that though the threads of your father's physical presence are frayed, the threads of his spirit, love, and impact on our lives will forever remain.
Just as a tapestry is made up of individual threads, each one unique and vital to the overall picture, your father's life was composed of countless moments, relationships, and experiences that together formed a beautiful portrait of a life well-lived.
The threads of his goodness, kindness, and generosity have touched us all in different ways. Some of us remember his gentle guidance, his listening ear, or his infectious smile. Others recall his unwavering support, his wise counsel, or his unconditional love.
As we said our threads of goodbye, we acknowledge the pain of loss and the ache of separation. Yet, even in grief, we found comfort in the threads of hope and faith. We trust that these threads have guided him to a place of peace and joy, where he now rests in the loving arms of his Savior.
May we honor his memory by living out the values he instilled in us, and may the threads of our own lives become intertwined with the threads of his, creating a beautiful tapestry of love, hope, and remembrance.
Rest in peace, dear Bobby Gatewood. Your threads will forever be woven into the fabric of our hearts.
May God perpetually be with your family during your griefs and sorrows.
Wandalavern Mills
Our staff will continue to keep your family in our prayers. We thank you for allowing us to serve your family.
