Robert “Robby” Barksdale, Jr

Type of Donation:          organs

Age and Location:          Age 19 – Forest Grove, OR

Donation Date:             9/24/2018

Sponsor:                   Honored by Lifesharing

ROBBY’S STORY

Robert Lyle Barksdale, Jr., affectionately known as “Robby,” was a charismatic, charming, talented, hardworking, and family-oriented young man. With his bright smile and contagious laugh, he was always the life of the party. If he saw someone eating lunch alone, he would sit down next to them. That’s the kind of person he was.

Robby was born and raised in Southern California. His family says he had the personality of someone who had “been here before.” He started playing pranks on family members when he was just eight months old. At the age of one, he could sit still in a restaurant or movie theatre. He was the perfect kid.

He grew up to be an excellent student athlete, receiving numerous academic accolades while competing in football, basketball, water polo, swimming, and soccer. Robby loved animals and dreamed of going to veterinary school, but his plans changed after Navy recruiters visited his high school. He set his sights on becoming a Navy SEAL. After graduating from Roosevelt High School in Eastvale, California (Riverside County), Robby enlisted in the U.S. Navy.   

At boot camp, he trained as a Damage Controlman – the Navy’s equivalent to first responders. After training, Robby was assigned to USS Bunker Hill (CG-52), a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser which is homeported in San Diego. Robby made a huge contribution to his unit and was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal. He was fearless, loyal, and courageous.

Robby loved music – he loved “Eminem” and performed under the stage name “Slim Robby.” But he was a fan of all kinds of music: rap, rhythm and blues, country, and new soul.   Tragically, Robby’s own song was cut short in 2018 after a fatal motorcycle accident. But even in death, Robby kept giving. He became an organ donor hero when his heart, kidneys, lungs, liver, and pancreas saved five people from certain death. Those individuals are alive today because of him.

Robby is beloved by his parents, brother, Godfather, friends, classmates, and shipmates. His warmth, crazy humor and constant dancing is terribly missed – but his loved ones truly feel his presence “watching over them.”