From Merrick to Connetquot to Sunken Meadow. This is the journey Bob and Annie McIntyre have taken to get to where they are today, and they have built an amazing family and life together along the way.
Getting ready to celebrate 45 years of marriage, Bob and Annie are the epitome of a truly compatible couple. They are both entirely different people who, when together, complement each other perfectly. They consistently strive to make everyone around them stronger, and they love each other well beyond belief.
They have also worked hard to give their children – Jessamyn, Sean and Caitlin – the best lives possible. All their kids’ successes can be directly attributed to Bob and Annie, and that is because the McIntyre couple have been tremendous role models.
“I admire the strength and perseverance in both, and the insurmountable amount of patience and love they show,” Jessamyn said.
Bob and Annie show strength in numbers, as they are wonderful individuals, but an exceptional couple. They are family first through and through, and they focus on their morals and values.
“Mom and Dad are good, hardworking, family-based people who always do the right thing,” Jessamyn said. “They always show love. They’re always a part of the community. And they love their grandchildren, Bo and Isla.”
Bob and Annie have a selflessness about them. They are heavily involved in the community, and they are there for so many people.
They are very sacrificial people too. In fact, back when Bob was a college football coach, he could have taken opportunities to move up the coaching ranks, but he never wanted to do anything that would be a detriment to his children. He wanted them to live “normal” lives, which is not something you see much, especially anymore, in the college football coaching realm.
In being such great parents, Bob and Annie now get to see the fruits of their labor. They have two grandchildren who they both love dearly, and for whom they would do anything. They also make sure to take every opportunity to teach them, as well as reward them the way grandparents tend to enjoy.
“My parents just love them so much,” Jessamyn said. “They are like an extra set of loving parents. Everything that we learned as kids is all of a sudden going into a 6- and 8-year-old. They are just the most wonderful grandparents. They are Gran and Pop Pop to the kids. There’s no one like them.”
Bo and Isla are going to continue to grow to appreciate their grandparents. Gran and Pop Pop are people they can both look up to and appreciate, as much of the McIntyre family does.
The McIntyre family has learned a lot from the family patriarch and matriarch as well. They know the adults they grew up to become are all because of the lessons and values their parents instilled into them. One, a teacher and coach, the other an environmentalist.
“They taught me two different things,” Jessamyn said. “They are two very different people. That’s what makes it the perfect partnership. They taught the importance of family. My dad could have moved us around, but kept us in our home and kept the same two jobs so we could grow up as kids in one place. Mom got her degree when we were growing up, eventually achieving her masters – balancing being a mother and getting an education.”
It would be difficult to find one negative thing to say about Bob and Annie, as they are models for what a loving and devoting couple should look like. They are not only the best parents and grandparents imaginable, but they are a couple who always has each other’s backs. They have been following each other around since high school, and early on, showed a commitment that they would do anything it took to be together.
“Their bond has always been unbelievable,” Jessamyn said. “They created a great family environment.”
What more can be said about this couple whose first date was a Sadie Hawkins dance? They have stuck by each other through thick and thin, and their bond is unbreakable.
They are also a couple who love celebrating holidays and being in the presence of their massive family. They are great role models to look up to, and they have done so much for their kids, grandkids and everyone in between.
“You have done everything to make our lives the best you could, and for that, we have wonderful lives.” – Jessamyn