- Date Of Birth: August 8, 1981
- Date Of Death: April 17, 2019
- State: New Jersey
Robert John Skrable, 37, passed away on Wednesday, April 17 at Lourdes Medical Center, Willingboro. Born in Freehold, Bobby spent most of his life in Toms River but lived many places. He felt most at home in Ocean County and also loved the years he spent living in the heart of Newark. Bobby treasured family first and considered many people to be his family especially his lifelong, childhood friends (Justin Misurell, Vinny Balicoma and Chris Krohn) who remained so important to him over the decades. He experienced hardship and endured the consequences of bad decisions with grit and full acceptance.
He never made excuses or shied away from taking responsibility. He was a massive force of strength and endurance who never backed away from a fight. He treated others with respect, compassion and empathy – even when he was being judged he found an ability to rise up, take stock and move on. His best self was found in the movement that is known as Integrity House. He found a family he could care for and support and found brothers who loved him unconditionally – flaws and all. That inspired him to be better, live better and to try and make the world a better place. He found purpose and that motivated him to use his massive strength to take on the system. He went to Essex Community College, earned dean’s list status, and found a voice through those classes.
He was a beautiful, gifted writer and authored extensive papers and gave talks on how society needs to work harder to understand broken people looking to heal as opposed to dismiss them as people not worth the time and energy to care about. He cared for everyone, especially people in crisis. He’d give you the shirt off his back, his last dollar and even his last cigarette if that’s what you needed. He never claimed to be healed; he was a self-imposed work in progress but he never gave up and for that, he remains in inspiration. He was a strong believer in the Catholic faith although he struggled with attending Church because he wrongly felt he had disappointed God and didn’t deserve His love. He carried his Rosary beads everywhere and they were in his pocket when he passed away.
God was in his heart and knew Bobby’s massive body was getting tired after 37 hard years. God decided he could use his massive strength in other ways by being our angel, our protector and our heavenly warrior. In that way he is with us always. Bobby had an eternal love for the New York Yankees and the New York Knicks. He loved good food, good friends and family. He knew every line from “Goodfellas” and “Liar Liar” and never missed an episode of the Sopranos. If heaven has HBO he is psyched for Game of Thrones. He loved playing cards and took great pride in his ability to beat anyone in tennis, even with a broken wrist and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He loved playing basketball. He loved candy and cigarettes and hanging out with his friends.
His sense of humor was one-of-a-kind and he took great joy in making people laugh. He was unconditionally loyal, smart and very endearing. Anyone who took the time to get to know him soon came to love him. He had countless cheerleaders, supporters and friends of all ages, lifestyles and backgrounds. Surviving are his parents Joanne and Tim Bergin of Toms River; and Scott and Holly Skrable of Pine Beach; his siblings Chris (and Amanda), Emily and Liam and his joy of joys, his nieces and nephew, Cheyenne, Stephanie, Aubrey and William; his grandfather Ralph Skrable, Waretown; grandmother Penny Woods, Fort Myers, Florida; aunts and uncles, Mike and Laura Skrable, Cherry Hill; Kathy and Richard Frazee, Fort Myers, Florida; Tom and Meave Woods, Holmdel; his cousins: Michael Skrable, Joseph and Jake Frazee, and Connor and John Woods. He was predeceased by his grandfather John Woods, and on April 3 by his grandmother, Madeline Skrable, with whom he shared a close and special bond.
He will be laid to rest by her side. In his hundreds of letters to his mom over the years, he always signed off with “You’re my heart, and I never go anywhere without my heart.” He is with us always and leaves a legacy of tremendous love.
