‘Be like Bob’ friends say of Whatcom motorcyclist killed last month in Skagit County crash

Those who knew him and loved him most were left lost and heartbroken, but 64-year-old Whatcom County resident Bob Bray was in his happy place last month right before he died in a motorcycle crash.

Bray was fatally injured Sept. 25 along Highway 20 in Skagit County after the motorcycle he was riding was reportedly struck by another that had run a red light at the intersection with Bayview Edison Road.

“I like to think of him making that left-hand turn (onto Bayview Edison Road) — it was pure joy for him,” said Port of Bellingham Commissioner Ken Bell, a close friend of Bray’s for nearly three decades. “He was about to go over some railroad tracks and be on that straightaway on his way up to Chuckanut Drive, and I bet he was already in heaven in his mind.

“I’ve done that ride with him so many times. It was cathartic for him. Once he was on that bike, he was in his happy place.”

Initial reports by the Washington State Patrol, which were picked up by news outlets, erroneously stated Bray was at fault in the crash, but that was quickly corrected.

Anyone who rode with Bob knew he was one of the safest and most responsible men or women on a bike.

“He obeyed all the rules and speed limits” Bell told The Bellingham Herald. “He never passed anyone when there wasn’t a lane. ... One time we rode up Mount Baker, and we got to the top and some guy who was behind us said he never been behind motorcycles that went that slow up that road. But we were just two old guys riding motorcycles — we weren’t in a hurry.”

Bray was much more than just a safe rider — his friends say he also was an amazing religious man, family man, community man, businessman and a wonderful friend.

Bray also was a Washington State Cougar, through and through.

In fact, those who attend Bray’s Celebration of Life at 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at Christ The King Church (4173 Meridian St.) in Bellingham are encouraged to wear crimson and gray.

‘Larger than life’

Bellingham Cold Storage President and CEO Doug Thomas said he and his wife met Bray and his wife, Martha, in about 2006, when the Brays were leading a Young Life religious group for youth.

“We naturally gravitated toward them, because they were a lot like us,” Thomas told The Herald, adding that in addition to the same faith and ideals and a love for travel and boating, their kids were similar ages and he and Bray were both Cougs.

Thomas and Bray attended a number of Washington State football games over the years, including trips to bowl games.

But what really tied them together, Thomas said, was laughter.

The pair would often trade jokes and lines from the “Vacation” series of movies or sportscaster Bob Uecker and would end up laughing at themselves laughing.

“I had my best ab workouts just laughing with Bob,” Thomas said. “I didn’t have to go to the gym. I literally had a sore stomach coming back from a trip with the guy, in a good way.”

Bray was known to give nearly everybody he met a nickname, said Bell, who also met Bray through their church in 1994.

“It was always something that described you, and it was always funny,” said Bell, adding that his nickname was “Tardy” because he was the last guy ready.

After Bray’s death, Bell started a Friends of Bob memorial group on Facebook that is now followed by more than 300 people, many of whom have shared the nickname Bray gave them or a memorable photo, “Bob-ism,” joke or story from the man Bell describes as “larger than life.”

As many good friends as Bray had, Thomas and Bell said the center of his universe, other than his faith, was Martha, their two sons, Tyler and Tory and their families, including four grandchildren.

Bray also is survived by his sister, Michelle Dahl; brother, Mike Bray; and numerous nieces and nephews, according to his online obituary.

“He loved his family more than anything,” Bell told The Herald. “His family was trying to crack some of the codes on his computer, and all his passwords related to how much he loved his wife and kids. His family lost a great deal.”

‘An amazing life’

It Isn’t just his friends and family feeling the loss of Bray, though.

Employees and customers of Dairy Distributing — a company that distributes dairy products to Whatcom County businesses and homes that Bray purchased in 1993 from partners that included his father, Bob Sr. — also have been hit hard, Thomas and Bell said.

“He has employees that he helped that may not have been employable elsewhere or had difficulty keeping jobs,” Bell told The Herald. “He always worked through the life issues they had and kept them and made it so they could transition into a healthy lifestyle. His employees were like family to him.”

Just as Bray was family to his employees.

Since his death, Dairy Distributing employees have been working overtime to make sure the business keeps going, Bell said.

But Bray’s influence extended well beyond the business, as Thomas said Bray was a “father figure to dozens of kids that really needed that kind of nurturing, positive influence.”

“Our community has lost a great resource,” said Bell, who traveled with Bray to help rebuild areas hit hard by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “Basically, they lost somebody who was not out front and boisterous, but took care of a lot of people in need behind the scenes.”

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Martha and her church group, who were already making face masks to support area healthcare workers, made and delivered more than 300 face masks for Thomas’ employees at Bellingham Cold Storage, who were essential employees keeping the food supply replenished.

“All our employees got masks, and I think that gave them the emotional confidence they needed to get through that. ... It meant the world to us,” Thomas said.

Bellingham Cold Storage ended up giving Bray a number of insulated totes so Dairy Distributing could begin making home deliveries to families in need that were no longer getting their dairy products through area schools.

“Bob was out there making those deliveries, himself, out of his pickup truck during the early stages of COVID,” Thomas said. “It was something he saw needed to be done, and he quietly stepped up and did it, the same way he always did.”

It is that attitude that Thomas said the Whatcom County community will miss most after Bray’s death.

It’s also what Thomas said he hopes those who knew Bray will carry on.

“He led an amazing life,” Thomas said. “I hope we can all be more like Bob — be kind, be selfless, be a good listener, be prayerful, be a good husband and a good father, be a good friend. Be like Bob.”