Robert Bumgardner

Robert Leon Bumgardner of North Little Rock went to be with the Lord on June 5, 2020. He was 84 years old. He was born in Blackwell, Oklahoma on December 16, 1935. He was preceded in death by his parents, Floyd and Velma, his loving wife, Joyce, and his siblings: Dale, Richard, Wayne, Clarice and Dorothy. He is survived by his sister, Carolyn Schodde, his sister in law, Twila Bumgardner, his four daughters and their husbands: Teresa and Steve Holt, Judy and Scott Duvall, Kathy and Gene Gadberry and Christy and Patrick McFarlin. He is also survived by his ten grandchildren and their spouses: Nicole and Matt Herndon, Aaron Holt, Ashley and Zachary Wright, Amy Duvall, Meagan Duvall, Trey and Ashley Gadberry, Jacob Gadberry, Berkley McFarlin, Grant McFarlin and Macy McFarlin. He is further survived by his great grandchildren: Hunter Gadberry, Brianna Mathews, Hannah and Christian Nichols, Adalyn and Marleigh Herndon, Hallie and Emery Wright and Juliette Bickell.

Bob was known by his six siblings as Little Bobby. They spent their childhood years in a loving home in rural Oklahoma. He learned the value of hard work from his father who was a school teacher, a farmer, a United Methodist pastor, and wallpaper hanger with his wife as assistant. Bob’s first job at eight years old was to help harvest wheat for his neighbors. Because he was too small to reach the clutch, someone would start the tractor for him before he drove into the pasture. He was proud to make enough money at such a young age to buy his own school clothes.

He attended Braman High School where he was on the Honor Roll, made All Conference in football, sang in a male quartet, acted in school plays and was on the yearbook committee. He also found time to work at a service station named Kellie Oil Company where he saved money to buy his first car, a 1937 Chevrolet. He always joked about being in the top ten of his class of sixteen students. A highlight was taking a senior trip to New Orleans.

When he was 17 years old he met the love of his life, Joyce Marie Moore, on a blind date. They were married on April 6, 1957 and celebrated 56 years together. Bob served in the United States Air Force Reserves in the early sixties. He also worked at Boeing Aircraft until 1961 when he was hired to be a camera salesman at Lawrence Photo. Around this time the happy couple was blessed with their first three daughters, Teresa, Judy and Kathy. They lived in Wichita, Kansas in a home they fondly referred to as the Strawberry House.

After five successful years working at Lawrence and being promoted to retail store manager, Bob was asked to become president and general manager of Jungkind Photo-Graphic. In January of 1966 they moved their family to Little Rock, Arkansas for this new job opportunity. Three years later their fourth daughter, Christy, completed their family. Bob’s vision was to expand his newly acquired camera store into graphics and printing. His employees called him Mr. B. Their headquarters remained in Little Rock where they became the only Kodak dealer in the state of Arkansas for Graphic Arts. Additional stores were added in Memphis, Jackson, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport, Fort Worth, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Houston. In 1990 Jungkind was selected as the Arkansas Business of the Year by Arkansas Business Magazine. He sold his company in February of 1997 after observing changes in the industry with the advent of digital technology.

Bob was a member of the First United Methodist Church of North Little Rock where he served faithfully in several different capacities. He loved attending the Builders Sunday School Class with many of his dearest friends.  He was a member of the Kiwanis Club for over 45 years, was chairman of the board of directors for Camp Aldersgate, golfed frequently, and was an avid photographer. Bob and Joyce both belonged to the Master Gardener’s program and created a special garden at their home that was featured in various magazine articles and local television segments.  Their garden was selected for tours of the Little Rock Garden Club, the Horticultural Society of Pulaski County and the Master Gardener’s International Convention.

Bob had an extensive camera collection with examples of over 850 types of antique cameras made by Kodak. It was one of the largest and most complete collections of its kind. His cameras were the subject of numerous articles in magazines and newspapers in the area and were featured in an exhibit at the Arkansas Natural Heritage Museum.

Bob and Joyce formed a charitable trust to provide scholarships for students at Ouachita Baptist University and Hendrix College and also contributed to the education of their children and grandchildren. Having not attended college himself, Bob highly valued education and was thrilled to be able to give others the opportunity.

Bob is remembered by his family and friends as one who lived life to the fullest. He had an appetite for travel, hosting parties (his shrimp boils were legendary) and creating cards and books from the photos he had taken throughout the years. He loved his large family and enjoyed spending time with his extensive circle of friends.

The family would like to thank Fox Ridge Senior Living, Hospice Home Care and Home Instead Senior Care for their loving assistance. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Camp Aldersgate at https://www.campaldersgate.net/support-us/donate/ and First United Methodist Church of North Little Rock at https://www.nlrfumc.org/give.html

Due to Covid-19, a private graveside service will be held for the family.