Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Robert Edwin Hargrove December 5 2025

Celebrating the Life and Legacy of  Robert Edwin Hargrove December 5 2025
Born December 5, 1927 — Buna, Texas
Passed September 6, 2013 — Buna, Texas

Today we honor the birthday of Robert Edwin Hargrove, a man whose steady presence shaped his family, strengthened his community, and left an enduring mark on Buna and Jasper County. His life reflected the deep values of rural East Texas—work, faith, service, and integrity—lived not in speeches but in actions repeated faithfully over decades.

Born in Buna in 1927, Robert was raised during the Great Depression and the wartime years that demanded resilience from every family. Those early years shaped the patient, steady character he carried throughout his life. 

During his youth and early adulthood, Robert contributed to the early development of Buna’s public services. He worked for Tom Barker during high school and for some time afterward, assisting in the operation of the town’s diesel generator system—the very system that provided electricity to Buna before JNEC extended power lines into the region. In those years, the town relied on local operators to keep the generators running, manage outages, and ensure that families and businesses had dependable light and power.

As a young man he answered his country’s call, serving in the United States Army with the 45th Infantry Division, 120th Combat Engineers, deploying to Korea and performing dangerous, essential work with quiet resolve.

Returning home, he built a life marked by responsibility and devotion. In 1957 he married Lavee Richbourg, and together they raised three sons—John, Hardy , and Wylie—rooting their family in the same East Texas soil that had shaped them.

Robert gave deeply to his community.
He served for many years on the Buna Independent School District Board, including time as Board President. In that role he helped guide the school system through seasons of growth and change, always insisting that the next generation deserved stability, opportunity, and excellence. His leadership was steady, principled, and grounded in a genuine concern for the children and families of Buna.

He was also a man of faith, active throughout his life in the Buna Methodist Church. He served wherever needed—trustee, Sunday school teacher, volunteer, and quiet presence. His faith was lived rather than announced, expressed in service, humility, and a deep sense of responsibility to his church family.

His legacy reflects the best of the long Hargrove lineage—strength without pride, faith without show, perseverance without complaint. The generations who preceded him crossed oceans, endured war and hardship, and built communities from the ground up. Robert carried those same qualities into the modern era, living a life of steadiness that inspired those around him.

Today, as we mark his birthday, we remember a man whose example continues to guide his family and community.
A man who did what needed to be done.
A man who could be counted on.
A man whose life mattered quietly, deeply, and permanently.

Happy 97th Birthday in Heaven, Robert E. Hargrove.
Your legacy continues in the lives you shaped and the community you served.

Robert Edwin Hargrove
A Life Across Nine Decades

1920s — Beginnings (1927–1929)
Robert was born in the closing years of the Roaring Twenties, at a time when Buna was a small, timber-country settlement with limited infrastructure. His earliest days would have been marked by family, church, and the rhythms of rural life. His parents, James and Mary, were part of the first generation to root the Hargrove and Denman lines firmly in Buna’s early community life.

1930s — Childhood in the Depression
His childhood unfolded during the Great Depression, a decade when rural East Texas survived through hard work, neighbor cooperation, and self-reliance. Robert likely helped with farm chores, garden plots, cutting wood, and caring for animals. School was a privilege; work was expected. Sunday worship at the local Methodist church anchored weekly life.
Electricity was limited, and his later work on the town diesel generator suggests an early familiarity with mechanical systems, power equipment, and practical problem-solving.

1940s — Youth, Work, and Early Responsibility
In his teenage years Robert attended Buna schools and worked for Tom Barker, helping operate Buna’s diesel generator plant, which produced electricity for the town before JNEC lines arrived. This work required reliability, long hours, and technical skill well beyond his age.
These were the war years. Though too young for World War II, Robert grew up in a community shaped by rationing, local enlistments, and the wartime economy. He learned responsibility early—supporting his family, working multiple jobs, and contributing to the stability of a rural town in a turbulent era.

1950s — Military Service, Marriage, and the Start of Family Life
The Korean War era called him to military duty. In 1951 he entered the U.S. Army and deployed to Korea with the 45th Infantry Division, 120th Combat Engineers, where he served in harsh conditions that demanded discipline, strength, and courage.
After returning home, Robert married Lavee Richbourg in 1957 and began building a home of his own. Late in the decade their first child, John, was born. The 1950s were years of transition—from soldier to husband, from young worker to the steady provider he would become.

1960s — Raising a Family and Deepening Community Roots
The 1960s were defined by family life and community service. With the births of Hardy and Wylie, Robert became the father of three sons. He worked steadily to provide for his growing household, and these years likely saw him balancing demanding work with active involvement in Buna Methodist Church and local community responsibilities.
His Father passed during this decade, leaving him as one of the senior carriers of the Hargrove family’s East Texas legacy.

1970s — Leadership, School Board Service, and Stability
The 1970s were a period of public service. Robert served on the Buna ISD School Board, including time as Board President, helping guide the district during seasons of modernization and growth.
His sons were moving through school, and he focused on ensuring they—and all Buna students—had reliable facilities, stable leadership, and opportunities that earlier generations lacked.
These were steady years, defined by work, church, responsibility, and the steady rhythm of rural life.

1980s — Mentorship, Church Leadership, and Family Milestones
By the 1980s, Robert was respected as a seasoned leader, a trusted church member, and a mentor. At Buna Methodist Church he served as trustee, Sunday school teacher, and a dependable servant in numerous roles.

His Mother passed as the decade started.
He supported his sons as they began their adult lives, careers, and families. He and Lavee became grandparents.
These were years of quiet influence—teaching, advising, helping, and modeling steady character.

1990s — Retirement, Reflection, and Community Continuity
In the 1990s Robert eased into retirement while maintaining deep roots in community and church. He saw the passing of his siblings James (1994) and George (1995), a reminder that he had become part of the family’s senior generation.
He spent more time on the Neches River, on quiet mornings with coffee, and on the small routines that bring meaning after decades of work. His presence remained steady—calm, predictable, and deeply valued.

2000s — The Grandfather Years
The 2000s brought slower days and the joy of watching grandchildren grow. Though older, he remained active in his church and community, continuing the habits of service that marked his life.
These were reflective years—filled with family gatherings, stories from earlier days, and the quiet pride of seeing the next generation stand on foundations he helped lay.

2010s — Closing Years
Robert entered his final decade still grounded in the same community where he had been born. He lived to see Buna change, grow, and become a connected rural hub far beyond the diesel-generator days of his youth.
He passed away in 2013 at the age of 85, leaving behind a legacy of steadiness, humility, faith, and service—a legacy carried forward by his children, grandchildren, and the community he helped shape.