Goodyear - Mr. Robert "Bob" Martin Havers, Jr., a beloved husband, father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend passed away on December 7, 2024, at the Hospice of the Valley Center in Glendale, Arizona. He was 84 years old. Bob was born on April 3, 1940, in Summit, Mississippi to Robert and Hettie Havers. He was the oldest of 3 children with 2 younger sisters, Frieda and Roberta.

A proud veteran, Bob served in the United States Air Force, including 3 separate one-year remote services in Labrador, Canada; Cold Bay, Aleutian Islands, Alaska; and, Shemya, Aleutian Islands, Alaska. His service took him and his family from Texas to North Bay, Canada, to Colorado where he worked at NORAD inside Cheyenne Mountain, and then finally Arizona where he retired from Luke Air Force Based after 20 years of service, after which he and his family settled in Goodyear, Arizona.

On June 5, 1960, he married the love of his life, Ruth Cockrell. They have shared a remarkable 64 years of friendship, love, and companionship. Bob was stationed at Amarillo Air Force Base and Ruth was employed in the credit office of Levines in Amarillo, Texas. Their wedding was originally planned for August 1, but Bob got transferred to Labrador for remote service so they pushed the wedding up. Ruth's sisters, JoAnn and Sandy, helped them pull it all together and they were married at the home of Ruth's mom.

Bob loved hunting, fishing, camping, gardening and skeet shooting. While stationed in Colorado, Bob and Ruth planted a yard full of Dahlias, roses, and other flowers. The flowers were huge and beautiful, and they were even featured in the local newspaper. Upon moving to Arizona, Bob took up Skeet Shooting and became very good at it. He won several different gun classes and several championships throughout the years and was inducted into the Arizona Skeet Hall of Fame in 2009.

Together Bob and Ruth raised two children, were blessed with 4 grandchildren and also cherished their 4 great-grandchildren. Bob is survived by his wife, Ruth, their children, Sandra and her husband Mark Fortin of Waddell, AZ, and Robert and his wife Denise of Glendale, AZ. He is also survived by his wonderful grandchildren: Shawn Fortin and his partner Randy of Phoenix, AZ; Kyle Fortin and his wife Anna of Queen Creek, AZ; and Ashley Howard and her husband Jeremy of Sahuarita, AZ. He has four great-grandchildren that he cherished very much: Carson Fugere and Tate Fortin, and Hope and Ruthie Howard. He is also survived by his two sisters-in-law, JoAnn Bowles (Charles) of Rowlett, TX, and Sandy Friesland of Dallas, TX, and one brother-in-law, Glenn Cockrell (Joyce) of Amarillo, TX. Bob was predeceased by his parents, his two sisters and their husbands (Roberta and Johnny Frazier and Frieda and Frank Russell), his mother-in-law (Louise Cockrell), grandson (Bobby Havers), and his brother-in-law (Ted Friesland).

Upon retiring from the military, Bob was co-owner of the Sage and Sands Barber shop located outside of Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, AZ. The barber shop opened December 12, 1988, and his two young grandsons, Shawn and Kyle, were his very first customers. Bob finally retired in November 1999 and his son, Robert, was his last haircut of the day.

Throughout the years, Bob and Ruth loved taking their grandchildren camping, showing them how to shoot Skeet at the gun club, and making several trips to Disneyland with each of the grandkids. They loved to take their RV to Colorado during the hot Arizona summers to enjoy camping and fishing where they made several friends who also loved to RV.

They attended Southwest Church of Christ until it became difficult for him to walk on his own and then moved to West Valley Church of Christ that was closer to their home. Bob was very proud of and cherished his family. Rest-in-Peace to a loving husband, father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, friend, military retiree, barber, skeet shooter, shooting hall of fame member, barber, fisherman, and above all, Christian. You will be missed, but we will see you again someday.

The church service is on Saturday, January 11th at 11:00am at West Valley Church of Christ, 18604 W Lower Buckeye Road, Goodyear, AZ 85338

A private family service will be held at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery on December 14th.