Our Friend Jeff Rowe

 Hey Friends,

Thanks for stopping by to visit. I appreciate your time. I am coming to you with a heavy heart. Yesterday afternoon we received heartbreaking news. 

Jeff Rowe has been a wonderful friend to our family for many years. He kept the BoggsMobile running and rolling. His knowledge and ability was a huge blessing to us!

Jeff finished his earthly life this week. We were shocked to hear this unexpected news! We are heartbroken to say goodbye to our friend!

Please join us in praying for his wife Kim Rowe, their family and the employees of East Tennessee Luxury Coach!

See you tomorrow. 

Odie

Foodie Friday 2/21/25

 Hey Friends,

Last week on Foodie Friday, here, I shared a favorite food memory with my Dad that he capture on video.

Well, the very next day we visited another family favorite buffet. He videoed that experience and shared it too. 

We loved Berry’s Seafood Buffet! They had a place to park the bus, the food is wonderful and the atmosphere is great! We stopped, whenever possible. Maybe Mom and I can go back soon! 

I thought it was fitting to share the video here for this week's Foodie Friday installment. I hope you enjoy.

See you tomorrow!

Odie

Foodie Friday Ice Cream 1/31/25

 Hey Friends,

This Is Odie. Thanks for stopping by! Today is Foodie Friday. I am going back a few weeks for this picture. Early in January, we went to Tennessee to empty the BoggsMobile.

We were blessed to have both Papaw Eugene Boggs and Papaw Danny Morgan with us! They helped us so much! 

We all dearly love ice cream, so we had to enjoy some together during the trip. Nothing is better than Ice cream with my Papaws! I love these men and am grateful to have them in my life.

See you later!

Odie

Goodbye Prevost BoggsMobile

Hey Friends,

Mom and I had a big week last week. On January 1st, we traveled to Tennessee. Gran and Papaw Morgan and Mamaw and Papaw Boggs traveled with us, too. Once in Tennessee, Steve, Karen, Bro. Scott and Sis. Kim Morris met us there as well. 

The goal was to empty the BoggsMobile of 16 years of life. Jeff Rowe at East Tennessee Luxury Coach allowed us to empty the bus at his shop. Mom rented a U-Haul bought supplies to help make the job easier. 

Wednesday evening, Mom and Papaw Danny picked up the truck and totes and got things ready to go. Thursday, Mom and her army of helpers descended on the Boggs Mobile.

After several hours and lots of hard work by several precious people, the job was complete! Everything was safely loaded into the truck. Thank the Lord  for His help! We thank our family for helping us with the move! We love you!

The BoggsMobile served us well for 16.5 years. Dad suffered from self diagnosed bus induced psychosis the entire time. He worked hard to maintain and keep our home on wheels rolling! There was always a list of issues vying for his attention!

We all loved the BoggsMobile. It was undoubtedly the best travel vehicle we have had. It was a dear member of the family. It carried us thousands of miles every year that we owned it. Oh, the memories that the bus holds for us!

We shopped for a bus for years before ever buying this one. God led us to the exact one we needed. It was an answer to a lot of prayers!

 Dad once wrote, “March 21, 2008 we purchased a 1995/1996 Prevost XL Vantare and drove it into the sunset.” I will never forget that day in Sandford, Florida.

Below are pictures from day 1. Mamaw and Papaw were there that day, too. Also, Uncle Ed and Aunt Nettie Mays came to see us off. The salesman is also pictured with Dad. 

Dad often said the first day he saw diesel at $4 a gallon was the day he bought a bus. Thank God, with His help, we had money for every drop of diesel we needed. 

In the middle of each month, the payment was paid. Dad gladly paid the BoggsMobile off last year. We rejoiced that day!

We owe a huge thanks to Ben Isaacs, Jeff Rowe, and Tim Dillman! These men helped Dad navigate owning a bus! We can never adequately say thank you. Your help means so much to us! Others were there to help right when we needed you! Thank you for your help as well!

Before Dad passed we knew the BoggsMobile days were numbered. Maintaining and driving it was much harder on Dad. I was struggling to get in, out and around in there. It was not super accessible. We were searching for the next best option to make life easier. All the while hating to close the Prevost chapter in our lives. 

I had decided to stay home a little more this year. Trying to make it easier on all of us. The events of November 10th 2024, sealed the deal. We no longer needed the bus!

The Lord helped us, and we sold the BoggsMobile last week. Mom and I have great peace with our decision! The new owner will take good care of it and give it a little TLC. 

Here are pictures from our BoggsMobile move out. 

 

BoggsMobile, you were good to our family! We are thankful that you helped us get through many years and miles. Thank the Lord for His protection! 

We have our share of bus stories that we will always remember, but thankfully, they were not horrific! The Boggsmobile will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Thanks for reading as we said goodbye to an old member of the family! Many of you helped pray for us as we travel across the country time after time in the BoggsMobile. See you next time.

Odie

December 29th 2023 The Day Of The Stoke

 Hey Friends,

I wanted to reflect on a big day in our Boggs Family history. Yesterday the one year anniversary of a day that we will never forget. 

December 29 2023, Dad was suddenly hit with a brain stem stroke. He was loading the bus while in our barn. Uncle Steve was right by his side that day.

Dad suddenly started feeling bad, and within seconds, he was extremely dizzy and could not swallow anything at all. He was rushed to the hospital. He remained in the hospital and in rehab until January 15th 2023.

Mom and I are still so proud of Dad. He was a model patient and worked so hard to overcome his obstacles! He was determined to recover to the best of his ability! Dad was a witness for God, even in his sickness!

Our prayers for Dad's complete healing may not have been answered this side of Heaven, but we are so thankful for the 10 extra months that we had with Dad. we were able to love him and cherish him a little longer! The extra time was an amazing gift! The Lord did many miracles for us to make those months much better! God was merciful to us! 

We still thank God for his goodness to our family! God was our strength back then and he has not changed. He is still with us today!

I cannot say how much we miss having Dad with us every day! Life will never be the same!  We still rejoice in the fact that his suffering is no more! We will go forward by God's grace! One step at a time and one day at a time. 

At this point, we have made it seven weeks, which sometimes looked impossible. By God's grace, we are still standing. A lot of the future is still unknown to us, but we know that God is in control!

Thank you to all family and friends for your prayers and support! Many of you have helped us through another challenging time in our lives! 

I cannot thank everyone by name! I will name my dear Uncle Steve and Aunt Karen. They have been with us every step of the way! Thank you ever so much! I love you both with all my heart!

The BoggsMobile

On the day of the stroke, we were preparing to pull out in the BoggsMobile The plan was to be gone from our homeplace the first seven months of 2023. Things did not go according to our plan!

As you know, everything suddenly changed. We remained close to home for most of 2023. Thankfully, Dad was able to travel a little bit here and there and do one last big fall tour before God moved him home.

On December 29th, last year, we were going to leave home, the plan was to take the bus to Tennessee for maintenance. Jeff Rowe and his guys had worked on the bus for a few weeks in November and December, but needed it back to finish up some projects. Also trying to locate some long standing issues. The bus did not make it there that day.

My parents took the bus to Jeff for some maintenance this summer. He kept us rolling for our final fall tour. The bus did arrive at Jeff shop on December 29, 2024, that's just one year later than originally planned. A driver went to Kansas and picked it up on Saturday. He drove it back to Tennessee and arrived safely Sunday  evening. 

Now Mom  and I will go to Tennessee later this week with some of our family. We need to get our belongings and say goodbye to the BoggsMobile. 

Please keep us in your prayers! We value each and every prayer that is prayed or has been prayed for us! We feel the strength that comes from your prayers! thank you for the text, email and calls of people checking on us. I apologize if I am unable to answer or respond to all of them. We do read the message and listen to the voicemail!

See you tomorrow. 

Odie

Sunday Sanity 12/8

Hey Friends,

Four weeks ago today, my Dad finished his earthly fight. He was a faithful soldier in God’s army. Daddy was committed to his God, family, calling and friends until the end.

Today’s Sanity comes from Jeff Rowe. This is a snippet of a text he sent me four weeks ago. It spoke directly to my heart when it was freshly shattered!

God has brought many special people into our lives over the years. Now, we can not imagine life without them. One such person is Jeff Rowe, owner of East Tennessee Luxury Coach in Vonore, Tennessee. 

Jeff became the official BoggsMobile mechanic. He kept us rolling and took Dad’s calls whenever we needed help on the road. He also helped tremendously with his bus-induced psychosis!

He is not just our go to bus guy, but he became a friend to our family! Often, he took up for me with Dad! This was the last picture Dad took of me and Jeff on July 22nd. 

I have found Jeff is eloquent with his words. I always feel honored when he takes a moment out his busy schedule to send me a text. Often it was exactly what I need in that moment.

Jeff has served our country! Once a Marine, always a Marine. We thank you for your service!

Odie

 “Today is the Marine Corps birthday.   Although your Dad was not in the military he was a outstanding soldier in the most important army.  The army of God.”

Jeff  Rowe