Las Vegas shooting victim Cameron Robinson lived a life of love
SANTA CLARA CITY, Utah — Cameron Robinson once blanched when his boyfriend, Bobby Eardley, filled a cart at the grocery store with name-brand products, racking up a $400 bill.
Robinson’s frugality also showed up when he dissuaded Eardley from buying a home decoration, promising that he could make it for less.
“In every perfect relationship, there has to be some pet peeves,” Eardley said. “To me, that’s what I cherish the most right at this moment.”
Robinson might have been frugal with money, but he was not with the love he shared for Eardley and for each life he touched.
More than 100 of those lives gathered Saturday night at Black Rock Park in Santa Clara City, Utah, to celebrate Robinson, a city of Las Vegas employee who was one of the 58 people killed in the Oct. 1 shooting on the Las Vegas Strip.
“I was the one that was the crazy one, off the wall, fly by the seat of my pants,” Eardley said. “He was the level-headed, mindful one. Where I lacked, he made up. Where he lacked, I made up. The best way to describe it is just the perfect balance. I’m going to miss him so much.”
Even as the sky turned a purplish hue, the air turned brisk and the wind picked up speed, an immense feeling of love infused the gathering.
Perhaps because that’s what 28-year-old Robinson was all about.
“He taught us all how to love without judgment, without condition,” said Joyce Eardley, Bobby’s mother. “He just added so much to our family.”
Bradi Eardley, who helped organize the gathering, said she loved Robinson because of how he loved the people she loved the most: her ex-husband, Bobby, and their three children.
“My kids loved him, he loved them, and he loved Bob and Bob loved him, and that’s why I love Cameron,” Bradi Eardley said. “I just love that he loved my family.”
One of the most concrete ways Robinson showed his love was through cooking.
“We never just had regular food. It was always fancy, always delicious,” Joyce Eardley said.
If he had been at his own celebration of life, she said, he would have been in the background, making sure all the guests had what they needed.
“His cooking, absolutely amazing cooking,” Bobby Eardley said. “I’ve always joked that I’m going to starve now.”
The celebration of life was supposed to end with lanterns lighting up the sky, but the wind was too strong. Instead, the gathering released 100 white balloons into the sky.
“I thank God every day that he was brought into my life because he is such a special person, and I’m so blessed,” Bobby Eardley said.
Contact Natalie Bruzda at nbruzda@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3897. Follow @NatalieBruzda on Twitter.