Robert Huff wears many hats

Bryon Glathar, Herald Managing Editor
Posted 3/15/18

Robert Huff feature story for March 16, 2018

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Robert Huff wears many hats

Posted

EVANSTON — You’ve probably seen him at Mother Mae’s Kitchen, where his warm greeting is as welcoming as it is genuine. “What can I get for you today?” he asks, eager to help each customer. 

Or maybe you’ve seen him at one of many community events he enjoys attending. “It’s kind of nice to have something in the community at different times during the year. Because it would be pretty boring to stay home all the time and not do anything,” he says.

Or maybe you’ve seen him walking around town — he does love to walk.

Wherever you’ve had the pleasure of running into Robert Huff, you’ve almost certainly left with a smile.

Uinta County Business Leadership Executive Director Wanda Rogers calls Robert’s story one of both independence and inclusion.

“He owns his own home, [he’s] involved in his church, volunteers and works within the community,” Rogers told the Herald. “And he’s an amazing person.”

Robert, 47, is also a decorated Special Olympian, a hard worker and a proud cat owner. When he’s not out and about in the community, he likes to relax at home, watch TV (“Little House on the Prairie” is one of his favorites these days) and pet Lucy.

He was born in Kimball, Nebraska, an hour east of Cheyenne, and moved to eastern Wyoming, then to Oregon, where he went to school, attending special education classes. He said he didn’t know until quite some time later, but he had apparently suffered a brain injury from an accident as a toddler.

“It happened when I was almost 2 years old,” he said. “Actually, I was told about it years later by my mom and my dad. That happened when I was 2 years old, when it’s hard to remember things. It’s hard to remember what happened when you’re just 2 years old.”

Robert’s parents told him he’d fallen head first off the couch.

That fall, and many others, haven’t held Robert back.

He’s a proud graduate of Hood River Valley High School in Hood River, Oregon.

“Then I lived over in Portland and worked for the DI, Deseret Industries, for a little while, and then I moved here at the end of ’93 and beginning of ’94,” he said.

Kathy Frame, Robert’s guardian, said he loves living in Evanston.

“After his siblings got out of school and his dad got a job somewhere else, he said he just wanted to stay here, and that he doesn’t want to move again,” she said.

About 20 years ago, people tried to take advantage of Robert, Frame told the Herald. Although Robert is quite independent and able to do most things on his own, Frame said, a judge appointed Frame as his guardian to help protect him from exploitation. She said the guardianship is very limited, but she stays in frequent contact with Robert.

“He knows he needs help with things,” Frame said. “If his hot water heater is leaking he’ll call me or someone else and say, ‘Well, I don’t know how to fix this but here’s what’s going on.’ He won’t wait until the house is flooded to know something is wrong and needs to be fixed.”

He might not want to move again, but that doesn’t mean he wants to stay put.

“I do like to travel,” Robert said, “and I like to see my family. And I do see my family from time to time.”

Lately, his favorite place to travel is Arizona.

“My mom now lives down there and so does my sister, and my dad got a place down there. This last Christmastime I was down there visiting with my mom and my sister.”

He said his mom moved closer to his sister about a year ago because his mom has some health problems.

“She’s getting older … so my sister had my mom move closer so she could help her out,” he said. “You know, that’s sometimes how it goes — when parents get older, sometimes they just need that extra help.”

And Robert is no stranger to offering help. He volunteers at Mother Mae’s Tuesday through Friday. He’s also had two jobs for the better part of a decade. He works at Floors and More a couple of days a week running a vacuum cleaner and dusting. Floors and More office manager Ben Meadows said Robert is a hard worker, very reliable and responsible. 

“I do a similar job at Westar Printing,” Robert said. “At Westar I do vacuuming, dusting, sweep the floors, take out the garbage.”

He also donates time to his church.

“I am very active in my church,” he said. “See, I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So, I lead the music in Priesthood, and then I also help with the young men, with the Priest Quorum. I help with them on Wednesdays and on Sundays. And I try to go to the LDS temple as often as I can get there. And I do go with our youth a lot when our youth goes. I’ve been doing that for a long time.”

Although it’s been several years, Robert also enjoyed his time as an athlete.

“I also used to do the Special Olympics games,” he said. “I did downhill skiing, I did bowling, some of the track events.”

He said he liked participating at all times of the year, competing in the summer, fall and winter. He enjoyed them all so much it’s hard for him to pick a favorite.

“His very best sport is — he’s an amazing downhill skier,” Frame said. “I was amazed at how well he could downhill ski.”

Frame is right. Robert’s got the hardware to prove it.

“I do have my … Special Olympics medals and ribbons hanging in my house where people can see them,” he said. “And I’m kind of proud of those.”

He said he also participated in Special Olympics when he lived in Oregon.

Frame said she’s happy for Robert and proud of his accomplishments.

“I’m just very impressed with Robert and how well he’s done. He walks everywhere. It took us a while to convince him to ask for a ride in the winter time because he likes to walk,” she said. “But we finally convinced him that he doesn’t need to walk all the way to work in a blizzard — there are people who are happy to give him a ride.”

Marvin and Mae Munoz, owners of Mother Mae’s Kitchen, have been giving Robert rides home lately after his volunteer shifts at the restaurant. He said he likes to help out. Although, truth be told, he does get a little more out of volunteering there than a good feeling and a ride home.

“They feed me,” he said with a big smile. “I don’t go home hungry. They make sure I get something before they take me home.”

But he doesn’t rely too much on others to keep his belly full — he’s fairly independent in the kitchen, too.

“I cook meals that I’m able to cook,” he said, “some of the easier meals. … I like cooking spaghetti, that’s what I did on Monday.”

Robert looks forward to the warmer weather so he can walk more. He said the walk to downtown from his home is about an hour — he lives near Evanston Regional Hospital.

“Sometimes it takes me an hour — or longer, because I like to enjoy the fresh air. I like to be outdoors once I can be. … Of course, I do a lot of walking in the summer months,” he said. “I’ll walk around the neighborhood or just walk wherever I want to go.”

He said he takes it slow, especially when there is snow and ice on the ground. Last year, his dad and stepmom bought him a walking cane, or walking stick, as he likes to call it, to help him on his journeys — whether it’s during his long walks to town or the icy half-block from Mother Mae’s to Bank of the West. It helps him keep his balance and avoid some of life’s falls.

“I do fall sometimes,” he said. … “And you know, those are normal things. People are gonna fall — that’s a normal thing. I don’t know how often, because I don’t keep track of it. I just want to get back up and get going.”