MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tipton County man has faced some recent struggles, but now he’s getting some help from a dear friend.

Bob Beanblossom is from Ohio. As a child, he enjoyed photography. In college, he studied oceanography and later served as an Aviation Electronics Expert in the Navy. He’s a veteran of the Vietnam war.

He eventually settled in Tipton County, Tennessee.

“He worked at the sheriff’s office for a while then he worked at our GIS system. Now, he works at budgeting accounts. Great guy, good Christian man, sings in the church choir,” said Scottie Delashmit.

Scottie, our playmaker, told us more about Bob.

“His wife passed away last year, and then earlier this month his house burned,” he said. “He did manage to save his dog. He was home when it happened, so he got the dog out, which is a big plus for him. Sure. But most everything is water damaged or soot damaged, but the house is a total loss.”

And how much did the insurance company pay?

“He didn’t have insurance on his house, so that makes it even more important that we try and Pass It On to him,” Scottie said.

We loaded up and drove to the Covington Square where we spotted Bob inside the county building. Scottie didn’t waste any time.

“Hey, our house burned in 2002. You were one of the first people to reach out to us. You prayed for us. You cared for us. You’ve been a great friend for over 20 years,” he said to Bob. “So here’s $300 from News Channel 3 and $700 from the anonymous donor.”

Bob was touched by the surprise.

“God loves you. Thank you,” he told Scottie.

Bob told us more about what happened to his home.

“I was working in the house. I lost my wife in August. Was going through her stuff and separating it out. I laid out some stuff for my daughter to go through and I was burning some stuff out back. It got in the leaves and the leaves got in the house and the log house just went up like tinder,” he said.

Fortunately, Bob does have a place to stay.

“Right in the front of our land is my mother-in-law’s house.  She died several years ago and nobody’s been living there, so the family let me move in there,” he said.