Ryan Jacob Bubbers
Denise found out she was pregnant in 1994. Our family was so thrilled and the excitement was building for his arrival. He was the first great grandchild on the Elmore side of the family. He was my aunt and uncle's first grand baby.
It was cold on the 9th day of November when Denise & Bob welcomed their 1st child into this world, Ryan Jacob Bubbers. He was so adorable with his tiny little features and what a miracle he was. I had to see him but my mom called and said that something was not quite right and they were not sure what was going on....Ryan was born with 2 nickel size holes in heart and they were not closing on their own. They were going to have to do open heart surgery for him to be able to continue to live. They flew him to the Children's hospital in Peoria. That was the first place I got to see the little peanut. he was in the NICU and so tiny, hooked up to machines but he was there and he was Ryan, our Ryan! Ryan was a fighter from the first breath he took outside of Denise.
Ryan was also quickly diagnosed with Severe Downs syndrome. I remember it being so hard on Denise and Bob in the beginning because they were not only adjusting to being first time parents to a new baby, but a baby that was now labeled special needs and life was going to be different. Not bad, just different. They promised from the beginning that no matter how hard it got, they would always keep him and love him as much as was humanly possible. That is exactly what they did. Ryan took over the Bubbers home with all of the toys, furniture, diapers and everything else that he needed. Grandparents, Alvin, Marie, Kathy and Bob stepped up into over time and cared for this baby whenever Denise and Bob were tired and needed help... 2 more kiddos were born to Denise and Bob over the following years, Sarah and Evan, but it was always Ryan. It had to be. He was never able to crawl, walk or stand and so he was in a wheel chair his entire life. Everywhere they went, Bob would haul the chair and then carry Ryan to wherever he needed to be.
There were so many trips over the years to ER's, Children's hospitals's in Peoria and Iowa City where sometimes they would be home for him for weeks at a time. Denise and Bob taking turns sleeping in his room with him so he was never alone. Ryan never spoke but they learned quickly how to read his actions and they became his voice. Sarah and Evan took their back seat to him but were always there to help when they were needed.
The family took him everywhere they went because we all knew that he could understand our love, our words and our hugs and kindness that we all gave to him. He was Ryan and he was our blood, our family. We didn't love him any less because he was different from other children. He was our welcome to holland destination when we all thought we were going to Italy.
Welcome to Holland by Emily Kingsley
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this…When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”“Holland?!” you say. “What do you mean, Holland?” I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to some horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.So you must go out and buy a new guidebook. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.it’s just a different place. It’s slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”The pain of that will never, ever, go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.
Ryan was such an amazing kiddo and he made our lives such a better place. Life went on and every year and Ryan carried on, growing bigger and heavier, but Bob never gave up carrying him. The though times were still many sleepless nights, constant ear infections, and his seizures. Through it all, they were always there. Bob and Denise, fighting for him.
Every year it was vacations, school, hand in hand, holidays, family time and always all hands on deck for everything team Bubbers! He was part of a great and loving family. He was half Bubbers and half Elmore but he was fully Ryan.
We had our Christmas Eve together, like we have had forever, December 24th 2017 and none of us knew that it would be our last Christmas with him. January came and life went on as busy as always. March brought on some more sick days for Ryan but he would recover and be back to his normal chocolate milk loving self once again. Bob & Denise were both busy with work, Evan was working on his senior year of high school and Sarah, in college, was studying a semester at sea. April came and it was Denises's birthday. Her and my aunt decided to fly to Germany and meet Sarah's ship and see her for a little bit and celebrate Denise's birthday while they were there together. Denise, Aunt Marie and Sarah were all in Europe on
Saturday morning, April 21st, while at his own home, he stopped breathing. EMS came and got him, but it was over, Ryan Jacob Bubbers took his last breath and woke in the hands of Jesus and walked for the first time....ever. Ryan surpassed everyone's expectations and lived 23 amazing years that gave our families life, joy, laughter and love! Ryan, you are missed every single minute of every single day. I have loved you for a thousand years and will love you for a thousand more!
This is dedicated to Denise & Bob, Sarah and Evan and our families and friends that were always there
Ryan was also quickly diagnosed with Severe Downs syndrome. I remember it being so hard on Denise and Bob in the beginning because they were not only adjusting to being first time parents to a new baby, but a baby that was now labeled special needs and life was going to be different. Not bad, just different. They promised from the beginning that no matter how hard it got, they would always keep him and love him as much as was humanly possible. That is exactly what they did. Ryan took over the Bubbers home with all of the toys, furniture, diapers and everything else that he needed. Grandparents, Alvin, Marie, Kathy and Bob stepped up into over time and cared for this baby whenever Denise and Bob were tired and needed help... 2 more kiddos were born to Denise and Bob over the following years, Sarah and Evan, but it was always Ryan. It had to be. He was never able to crawl, walk or stand and so he was in a wheel chair his entire life. Everywhere they went, Bob would haul the chair and then carry Ryan to wherever he needed to be. There were so many trips over the years to ER's, Children's hospitals's in Peoria and Iowa City where sometimes they would be home for him for weeks at a time. Denise and Bob taking turns sleeping in his room with him so he was never alone. Ryan never spoke but they learned quickly how to read his actions and they became his voice. Sarah and Evan took their back seat to him but were always there to help when they were needed.
The family took him everywhere they went because we all knew that he could understand our love, our words and our hugs and kindness that we all gave to him. He was Ryan and he was our blood, our family. We didn't love him any less because he was different from other children. He was our welcome to holland destination when we all thought we were going to Italy.Welcome to Holland by Emily Kingsley
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this…When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”“Holland?!” you say. “What do you mean, Holland?” I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to some horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.So you must go out and buy a new guidebook. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.it’s just a different place. It’s slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”The pain of that will never, ever, go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland. 
Ryan was such an amazing kiddo and he made our lives such a better place. Life went on and every year and Ryan carried on, growing bigger and heavier, but Bob never gave up carrying him. The though times were still many sleepless nights, constant ear infections, and his seizures. Through it all, they were always there. Bob and Denise, fighting for him.
Every year it was vacations, school, hand in hand, holidays, family time and always all hands on deck for everything team Bubbers! He was part of a great and loving family. He was half Bubbers and half Elmore but he was fully Ryan. 
We had our Christmas Eve together, like we have had forever, December 24th 2017 and none of us knew that it would be our last Christmas with him. January came and life went on as busy as always. March brought on some more sick days for Ryan but he would recover and be back to his normal chocolate milk loving self once again. Bob & Denise were both busy with work, Evan was working on his senior year of high school and Sarah, in college, was studying a semester at sea. April came and it was Denises's birthday. Her and my aunt decided to fly to Germany and meet Sarah's ship and see her for a little bit and celebrate Denise's birthday while they were there together. Denise, Aunt Marie and Sarah were all in Europe on  |
| Denise always rocking him to sleep no matter how big he was |
Ryan Jacob Bubbers
NOVEMBER 9, 1994 – APRIL 21, 2018
FAMILY
- Robert Carl Bubbers Jr., Father
- Denise Elizabeth Bubbers, Mother
- Sarah Bubbers, Sister
- Evan Bubbers, Brother
- Alvin Elmore, Grandfather
- Marie Elmore, Grandmother
- Robert Bubbers, Grandfather
- Kathy Bubbers, Grandmother
- Bruce (Cher) Elmore, Uncle
- Jeff (Tracy) Bubbers, Uncle
- Also left to cherish his memory are his cousins Ethan, Jackson, Audrey, and Nolan, and his special Angel Carol Hunt.
PALLBEARERS
- Evan Bubbers
- Sarah Bubbers
- Jeff Bubbers
- Bruce Elmore
- Lamar Otwell
- Herb Hoke
DONATIONS
- The Family
- Make-A-Wish Foundation
- Camp Courageous
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