OMED: Michael O'Brien, the first man to climb Mt. Frigidaire in Antarctica while wearing a speedo and swim fins, now covers sports for the Tillamook Headlight Herald    (Photo: Publicity shot of Mike O'Brien during his days in Hollywood.) 

One of life's real treasures is the good fortune of having a friend who can  make you laugh. Any time they want to. One who can change the color of a day by their very presence.

Dr. Bob MacGillivray, who died Oct. 12 at a youthful 83 years of age, was
that person for many of us in Tillamook County. He raised smiles in varied
and creative ways. It may have been a handwritten letter, containing either
an amusing story to pass on, or, a written imaginative fantasy of something
he'd like to see happen.

Several of us were reminiscing about MacGillivray at a high school game the
other night and it came to be known that we had all received such missives
from him through the years. This reporter got them regularly at the sports
desk, Bob Lamb got them in Palm Springs when MacGillivray was unable to be on the yearly golf trip, and Jim Bedford got them from Palm Springs when
MacGillivray was in Palm Springs. The notes and letters were funny,
articulate and brightened your day.

In short, he cherished his friendships and always made the effort to remind
you of that. Having watched, as well as coached, Tillamook High School
athletes over a period of six decades, he knew a few things.

He knew about the support wire that hung nearly invisibly on the north end
of the floor at the THS gym. And precisely how many shots it had altered in
game-changing situations through the years. He knew all the old coaches.
Many adults around town these days were probably coached by him in pee-wee baseball or basketball, which he described recently, with a grin, as "utter bedlam."

MacGillivray and his new bride, Phyllis, arrived in Tillamook in July of
1956. He had been teaching at Pacific University Optometry School and the
two of them were drawn to living in a small town on the coast. MacGillivray
opened a store on First and Main, with an office in back of LaMar's Drug
Store. Cedar Bay Restaurant's parking lot was a Richfield gas station, "Rudy
the Shoe" had a booming business as a shoemaker and Heusser's Grocery Store was a going concern. The good doctor and Phyllis stayed for 49 years,
building their home on Sollie Smith Road in 1961, the first on that street.
MacGillivray retired in 1985 and went to work on his "fondness for golf,
which is greater than my ability," as he expressed it.

His golf buddies, Tom Waud, Lyle Specht, Jim Nelson and a few others,
constituted what can only be referred to as a 'fun foursome', any day he was
involved. "Doc had a great imagination, a great gift for words and even at
age 83, could hit the ball well," said Nelson. "Although, with the fun that
was going on with all of us in that group, you sometimes needed hip boots."
MacGillivray spent the final 50 years or so of his life loving the kids in
this community. He was the softest touch in the house for fund-raisers over
the past few years and seldom missed a boys or girls basketball game at the
THS gym. In recent years, football had become a bit chilly for his comfort,
but you could catch him behind home plate on a cold April afternoon, rooting
on the Tillamook softball girls, sometimes for a double-header.

Last spring, at one of those games, MacGillivray shared a lovely insight
with this reporter. We were bemoaning the difficulty of aging gracefully,
various aches and pains and all. I shared a comment from an old Irish woman
I had known named Dorothy Finnerty. She had said, "aging is not for
sissies." MacGillivray laughed and said, "Yes, but childhood comes for me at
night. All I have to do is close my eyes." Nice thought isn't it?

MacGillivray and his pals still gathered as the "Prudent Plungers," an
investment club formed with many of his closest friends. On his 80th
birthday, a tribute tape to him was assembled by Waud, with Specht, Pete
Sutton, the Wynias, the Nelsons, Bud Gienger, Bob Riggert, Ed Myers and
others, paying homage to him on his birthday. "Scottish to the core," as he
described himself, MacGillivray was pleased with the bagpipe tribute that
served as a soundtrack.

MacGillivray was a veteran of the United States Army, and found himself
holed up from December 1944 through February 1945 at the Battle of the
Bulge, where there were 76,000 American casualties and 100,000 more on the German side. "That experience," said MacGillivray," taught me to enjoy life."

His buddies in the grandstands, Larry Steffey, Bedford, Waud, Specht and
many others, will be missing him for certain, as the seasons continue. Much
as it was when we lost Velda Dahl, a good friend of his. The thought here is
that MacGillivray should have the same brass plaque as Dahl received,
honoring the seat he took every night in the same place. 

No one loved the kids and their growth as athletes and young adults more than he did.

In recent times, he had spent a majority of his time helping Phyllis through
an ailment that had taken her ability to walk. MacGillivray and Rose
Hartford traded time in Phyllis's behalf. His pride in family was special
and always visible. His son, Bill, and daughter, Bonnie, were big in his
life, with Bill having followed him into the business of optometry. For a
great number of years, MacGillivray and his son hosted the "Eye Open," a
fund-raiser golf tournament for sight impaired people which raised thousands
of dollars.

With his wry grin and affinity for his friends, MacGillivray brought good
cheer to the dance of life. It was always there, even if he wasn't feeling
his best. If he teased you, it was a compliment. It meant he liked you. It
often took  him 10 minutes to exit a store or bank, if he should run into
someone he had a story to share with, or direct a humorous barb at.
The loss is palpable for his family and friends, around the sports community
and the town. It hurts. But it seems impossible to recall him without it
raising a smile. 

Somehow that fits. It's hard to imagine him wanting anything more than that
from us. He spent his life, after all, raising those grins for our benefit.

His legacy is a smile.

© 2005 Michael O'Brien