Bobo remembered as great person, genuinely kind, loved by all

Through both regional and national news headlines, Holly Bobo is a name many have come to know.

Yet, to the community of UTM and those in the Parsons area, Holly Bobo already was well-known as a woman who loved her community, her family and was devoted to her church. She also had plans to start a life with her boyfriend, Drew Scott, and become a nurse by finishing her degree at the UTM Parsons Center.

This made the news of her disappearance on April 13, 2011, all the more devastating and shocking.

“One of her friends in the nursing program said she knew something was wrong when Holly did not show up that morning [to school] … because Holly rarely missed school, and there was a big test that day. Her family said she had stayed up late the night before studying and that is one of their last moments with her,” said Robyn Bingham, a UTM alumna who attended Scotts Hill High School with Bobo.

Bingham, along with others who knew Bobo and were a part of her hometown community, found that day to be a blur of emotions.

“I was living in Martin as a UTM student when I found out on that fateful Wednesday morning. It was a day that changed my life. I burst into tears. I was in shock. How could someone from our little town just disappear? This type of thing had never happened there before. There was an empty feeling in my heart,” Bingham said.

“I hoped it was a bad dream I would wake up from, but it went on and on and eventually turned into the nightmare it has become. I could not wait to rush home that weekend, and when I did, I got chills as I saw pink ribbon after pink ribbon lining the streets of Henderson County and Decatur County.”

Not only did Bingham fear for Bobo, she also feared for the safety of others.

“I also had fear for my own safety and for my friends around me. What if this wasn’t an isolated event? Nothing felt safe anymore,” Bingham said.

Bingham wasn’t the only one who suddenly felt unsafe in her hometown.

“I couldn’t believe someone would take Holly. Who would have anything against our Holly? One minute I was in senior English and the next we were being told that Holly was abducted. It honestly terrified me. If someone could do that to Holly, what else could happen? A lot of the girls in school couldn’t be outside at night alone anymore. We all became super paranoid about the situation,” said Whitney Moody, a senior Health and Human Performance major who went to elementary and high school with Bobo.

Another elementary and high school classmate of Bobo’s, Robert Moore, said that day stuck in his memory, as well.

“My feelings [that day] were … extreme disgust, confusion and anger, the kind of feelings that seem to crush any hope and faith of things turning around for the better. I didn’t know what the outcome was, but I was frustrated and confused. I wanted to do something to help, but was away from home at the time. When I went back home and did help out, it all seemed so futile and hopeless. I tried to stay positive about the situation, but there was no rationality to that,” Moore said.

Through this tragedy, however, one positive element remained: the ability of the community to bond together and fight for Bobo, a woman that many saw as a beautiful and caring person.

“Knowing Holly has made me a better person. She loved everyone. She saw the best in people and was a friend to all. She showed genuine love to her friends and even to strangers,” Bingham said.

“She taught everyone to laugh and have fun. She was not afraid to sing and dance. Those are qualities that came easily to her, and seeing the way she could light up a room with them made me want to work on improving those qualities within myself.”

Not only did others see Bobo as someone with a contagious love, but also as a genuinely kind person.

“She was always nice and a paradigm of human kindness,” Moore said.

To many, Bobo had the same bright personality as a child.

“Holly was the type of person that could light up the room with one smile. She was always super sweet even [when] I was younger. [Once, when] we spent the week together in Florida for basketball camp, I got to room in the ‘cool room,’ which was with Mrs. Karen, [Holly’s mom], and Holly. She was funny and lively. She could randomly burst into song or make silly faces at you,” Moody said.

Bobo also affected her community positively.

“She was very involved. She loved to entertain, but she also loved to help out any way she could. She was an upstanding citizen and a good role model for the younger children. She knew school was important, too, and she excelled and had one of the highest GPAs in her high school graduating class,” Bingham said.

In the community’s fight, in addition to searching the area, many hung up pink ribbons around town, put up signs of support such as, “Praying for Holly” and made fliers, bumper stickers, T-shirts and bracelets. There was also a Facebook page created called Bring Holly Bobo Home and benefit events, which raised money to continue creating supplies to get Holly’s face in the public.

“The school was just about empty because everyone was out looking for her. It brought the community together. Our town is so small, things like that just don’t happen. It was a shock to everyone,” said Andrew Jones, a sophomore English major, who knew Holly’s cousin Natalie Bobo and is from Parsons.

In the search, the community worked together for three years.

“The community showed so much dedication, love, support, and hope. We became stronger together,” Bingham said.

In addition to searching, many wore the T-shirts, buttons and bracelets created, along with advertising her kidnapping on vehicles.

“[By wearing the T-shirts, buttons and bracelets], everyone helped keep Holly’s name and face out there. I have taken my Holly shirt, bracelet and button as far as Florida to spread the news when I traveled. Even while in Martin, I found a lot of people who weren’t aware of the situation,” Bingham said.

With recent news of Zachary Adams’ two-count indictment for especially aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder, those of the community have once again felt devastation and tragedy.

“More than anything, [in that moment] the community felt loss. We have hoped for so long that Holly would be brought home safely. Now hearing that she was murdered is heartbreaking. This community is incomplete. Holly became our symbol of hope on this journey, and now it is hard not to feel hopeless. I wish I could hear that sweet voice again,” Bingham said.

However, in the midst of the tragedy that befell Bobo, her story lives on.

“I believe if we all were a little bit more like [Holly], the world might not be so dull. Her beautiful smile, one-of-a-kind voice and giggly personality were what made her. You didn’t get much better than Holly,” Moody said.

“Holly left behind a beautiful legacy. She was a person of love, faith, intelligence and talent. In her short time here on earth, she affected so many. She was sweet, funny and had a beautiful voice and a personality to match,” Bingham said.

“Her story is a reminder of the richness of a life well lived, regardless of the amount of time between birth and death. I just hope that she can be remembered as the great person that she was, not the victim she became.”