Obituary

Celebration of Life
Friday, 7/26/2019 10:00 a.m. at Squalicum Boathouse, Zuanich Point Park, Bellingham

Robert (Bob) Erich Packo, age 60, of Bellingham, WA passed away unexpectedly from heart failure on April 30, 2019. Bob Packo left this world in the way he would have wanted it. He was at home. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and he was snoring away in his favorite big chair. He never woke up and passed away in the arms of his beloved wife Bonnie J. Packo (Burroughs). We didn’t know it, but it was his time. His big generous heart was indeed 4-5 times too big.

He was adored by his family, survived by his mother Jean Marie (Latourette, Packo) Medina, brothers, William H.L. Packo (Monique) and John Packo(Pam) as well as  nieces, Moana Packo, Julia M.(Packo) Niver, Bryn R. Burroughs and nephews, John D. Packo and Dawson J. Burroughs. Also his many wonderful cousins and their children. He was predeceased by his father, John Packo.

To his friends and family he shall always be remembered with a huge smile on his face. Kind, loyal, strong, intelligent, funny and loving were the most common adjectives used to describe him. He welcomed everyone with a smile, a handshake and a hug. Definitely a clown himself, and a devotee of J. P. Patches, he developed his own costumes- delighting children of all ages. He was a talented athlete and played on many winning teams from his youth; baseball, soccer, track, football and basketball. But the greatest of these for him was basketball. Bob didn’t toot his own horn. Many people did not know that he scaled most of the significant peaks in the state and frequently won prizes on sports radio for his in-depth sports knowledge. Known by many as the skit master, he cherished family charades games and singing songs around the campfire. He valued his family and the friendships that he built from a life of competitive sports, the Boy Scouts, Bellevue High School, Bellevue Community College and Western Washington University. Bob loved working with young people as a teacher, coach, uncle and cousin. He was patient, fun and had creative ideas for learning and play. What a joy it was to be around him.

We are holding a celebration of his life on Friday, July 26^th, at the Squalicum Boathouse in Zunich Point Park, Bellingham, WA. It will begin at 10:00AM. Please join us to honor his life and celebrate him in the joyful way that he would have wanted. Bring your favorite memories to share with all of his family and friends. In lieu of flowers, we will be collecting donations to place a bench in his name at Boulevard Park, where he often biked and walked.