Robert A. "Bobby" Lankford II.

Robert “Bobby” Alec Lankford, II, 59, of Marshall, Michigan, passed away on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 at home.

He was born on December 21, 1963 in Eaton Rapids, Michigan to Robert Alec Lankford and Janice Henning.

Bobby — aka BL — graduated from Harper Creek High School in 1983. After high school, Bobby moved and lived the majority of his life in Sacramento, Calif., where he spent many years working with the California Republican Party — mainly with the Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sonny Bono campaigns — before moving back to Marshall in 2019.

Bobby was a television and trivia aficionado — spending part of each evening watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! — a show he had always hoped to get on. 

He had the uncanny ability to recall many persons, places and things throughout history — and often shared that knowledge with anyone he spoke to.

Bobby was a great story-teller, listener and friend. He also had an excellent sense of direction — one could never get lost traveling with Bobby.

He enjoyed the outdoors, tending to his tomato plants and sunflowers in the yard; a good baseball game, a good cup of coffee; walking; spending time with friends and family; trying new things; and soaking up as much knowledge as he could.

He was also very interested in trains, both the knowledge of and collecting. At home, he maintained a large HO scale train set — which he spent many hours trying to perfect.

He was also a member of the Roman Catholic Church.

He was preceded in death by his father, Robert Alec Lankford; stepfather, Donald Henning; aunts, Judy Chadderdon and Lois Trumbull; and a sister, Lisa Lankford.

He is survived by his mother, Janice Henning of Marshall; a sister, Nola (Gary) Baker of Marshall; a brother, Kenneth Lankford of Medford, N.J.; and several aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews.

According to his wishes, cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held at later date.  In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials to the Marshall Distric Library, 146 W. Green St. Marshall, MI 49068 (For books about trains, game shows and trivia), the Humane Society of South Central Michigan, 2500 Watkins Rd. Battle Creek, MI 49015, and the Battle Creek History Museum, 307 W. Jackson St., Battle Creek, MI 49037.  Arrangements by Farley Estes Dowdle Funeral Home & Cremation Care, Battle Creek.  Personal messages for the family may be placed here at www.farleyestesdowdle.com.