Mr. Robert “Bob” Godfrey, a familiar face in greater Glenside and Ocean City, New Jersey, passed away on Monday, June 16 after contracting pneumonia. He was 85 years old.

Mr. Godfrey was born in Abington and at age eight moved with his mother to Ocean City where he earned the nickname “Lawnmower Man.”

Mr. Godfrey was “a fixture on the Boardwalk and the Asbury Avenue downtown for decades,” his obituary in The Press of Atlantic City says, noting that he “mostly walked where he was going. A childhood illness left him with a brain injury, one that kept him from many everyday activities. Godfrey did not drive or hold a regular job. He often wore mismatched, sometimes seemingly random clothing. He looked to the kindness of the community, and usually found it.”

“Because of his daily walks, Bob made countless friends around town—downtown, on the boardwalk, and in the arcades. He especially loved skee-ball and treasured the tickets he won, trading them in for small prizes that meant a great deal to him,” another obituary reads. “Bob didn’t smoke or drink, and I could always get him to laugh by joking that we should have a beer together. He’d quickly say, “No, I can’t do that,” and when I replied, “Yeah, maybe we should,” he would break into contagious laughter—laughter that could make you laugh so hard you’d cry. Bob had a wonderful sense of humor and a genuine love for life’s simple joys.”

Glenside Local’s editor first met Mr. Godfrey decades ago as a child on Ocean City’s beaches. According to relatives, Godfrey regularly mowed his great grandmother’s lawn at Pennlyn Place in the 1970s (I had no idea he had Abington roots until yesterday).

He will be laid to rest at Northwood Cemetery in Philadelphia. Service details will be posted here when finalized.

For all the latest news, follow us on Facebook or sign up for Glenside Local’s “Daily Buzz” newsletter here.