Someone needs to speak for murder victim Bob Mast

To the Editor:

Who is Bob?

Bob Mast, Oct. 18, 1962 - April 30, 2005.

He's the dead guy in the pictures we are seeing in the courtroom, State vs. Wayne Hixon.

He is the only true witness to everything that went on that fateful night in April.

Nobody gets to know Bob. No one gets to see all the good things he did and what kind of a person he was.

He was a very outgoing person (they would say hyper-active in today's terms). No one told him he couldn't do something; because that was not a word in his vocabulary.

He set his mind to whatever he was up to at the time and did it. He never walked; he always went into every task full speed and head first.

From childhood he loved all creatures. Rats, mice, dogs, cats, horses and yes I even remember a skunk. We went through snakes, iguanas, fish, spiders, and rabbits. He always wanted a horse ranch and was making a carriage so he could take people for rides, (yes he even had a top hat and tails).

He was so close to that dream coming true.

He didn't just want to ride horses, he wanted to break, train and give his kids the love for them he had.

Who was Bob?

He was a son, a dad, a brother, nephew, uncle and a friend to lots of people. He would give you the shirt off his back just to make you feel better. He laughed, he cried, he believed in God and he died.

He got windows in trade for jobs he did. He got boards that he had to take hundreds of nails from. He pieced and nailed and built his cabin with love and skill.

He married at a young age and had two sons, Robbie and Cody.

He always had a dream of having his own property with lots of trees and wildlife. After an adventure through the western states of Montana, Canada and Alaska, he fell in love with the Northwest.

He followed his dad to Bigfork and found some acreage. He helped his dad with his house they built from the ground up and a couple of years of living in a motor home. He started his own house. The house was so close to finished; it burned to the ground, all gone, nothing left.

So once again the journey began working and trying to make ends meet. Then he heard Minnesota land was reasonably priced so he moved there.

He ran his own ranch there for a couple of years but his heart was in Montana and so was the family he missed so much.

So back he came, found his little piece of Montana, and built his cabin. He was well on his way for all his dreams to come true.

But Wayne Allen Hixon, who was too selfish to let people live their dreams, shot him down in the prime of his life.

Wayne took away a dad.

Wayne took away a son that was always ready to help with any task.

Wayne took away a friend to a lot of people, someone to laugh and play with, a shoulder to lean on. He would laugh with you or cry with you. It's all in what you needed. Wayne took away a brother who was there to love you no matter what you did.

Wayne also took away my nephew who would call me any time day or night just to chat or cheer me up.

To be your "date" when you were new in town and didn't know anyone. To take me out for a burger when I had a hard day.

We were close and he will always have my heart even though it is broken. I will miss him terribly. Someone has to speak for Bob because he is not here anymore to speak for himself.

That's who Bob is.

May you now rest in peace. Your family will always miss you and we will always love you very much.

Jan Romano

Bigfork