NORFORK, Ark. — THV11 continues to share the faces of COVID -- telling the stories of those we've lost to the virus beyond the cold numbers that hit us every day.
Now, we remember a man with over 50 years of his life dedicated to Arkansas education.
Bobby D. Hulse was known for his colorful clothes and dance moves.
His daughter, Tasha Harris, described him as a "special man."
"He just had a very vibrant personality and he just always lit up a room when he walked in, he always made a difference," she said.
But behind that spunky nature, Harris said, there was a man who invested everything in those around him.
"He just formed a connection with people that people never forget," she said.
Hulse spent 42 years of his career in the Norfork School District.
Even though his last title held was high school principal, Harris said you could often find him coaching the basketball team or even cleaning the bathrooms. Whatever the school needed, he did.
"He'll tell you, he never wanted to be a superintendent because he always wanted to be right in the middle of the kids all the time," she said.
But sadly, that time was cut short when Hulse was diagnosed with COVID-19.
The 76-year-old was hospitalized in late December, but Harris said he continued to fight for almost a month, with former students, now healthcare workers, right at his bed-side.
"One nurse in particular, she knew how much he loved his coffee, so she would stop and get him a certain kind of coffee every morning on her way to work," she said.
This love was given to Hulse right until his last breathe on January 27.
A moment Harris said still doesn't seem real.
"It's not something that we ever imagined, especially with my dad, because he was just so full of life all the time," she said.
Enjoying every moment this world has to offer is the legacy his family believes he's leaving behind.
"This is what my dad would want. He would want the positive to be shared right now because this is what he stood for," Harris said.
On Jan. 31 Hulse's family celebrated his life and guess where they did it? Right in the school gymnasium that has been named after him for years.