Story by Smantha Perry
Photos by Eric DiNovo

He had a voice recognized across the globe. Bob Denver was Gilligan, America’s beloved castaway and Mercer County’s adopted son. But, in 2005, as cancer robbed him of his speech in the final weeks of his life, it did not diminish his spirit — or his deep connection with his wife, his soulmate and one true love.

A constant presence by her husband’s bedside during his illness, Dreama experienced pain, tragedy and trials as she watched the man she loved for nearly 30 years fall ill with cancer and finally succumb to heart problems.

And times, she didn’t think she had the strength to survive the hardships. But love can provide courage and fortitude when all hope seems lost.

Dreama grew up in Bluefield, W.Va., and she and Bob moved back to Mercer County in June of 1991 with their autistic son, Colin. “Bob loved this area,” she said, reminiscing on her husband’s appreciation of West Virginia. “He just thought the people were the best people in the world.”

Known worldwide for his 1960s television roles of Gilligan on “Gilligan’s Island” and Maynard G. Krebs on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” Bob instantly became a hometown celebrity.

He was good to his fans, when many celebrities don’t want to be bothered, Dreama recalled. “He always carried pictures with him to hand out autographs and pictures. He had a lot of respect for his fans. He was just a good person. He was amazing. I was very proud to bring him here.”

Although Bob was born in New Rochelle, N.Y., and grew up in Texas, Dreama said he was a “wonderful ambassador for West Virginia,” who always spoke of the Mountain State’s beauty and great people when doing talk shows.

“I think this is the place Bob lived the longest in his entire life. I know this house is the one he lived in the longest in his entire life.”

The beginning of the end started with what appeared to be a mild illness. “He got hoarse,” Dreama recalled. “He thought it was laryngitis. He waited and waited, and he was hoarse for months.” When he finally went to see a physician, “the cancer had grown through his larynx.”

“Bob had throat cancer. When he was diagnosed with it, it had grown through his larynx.”

Due to the extent of the cancer, Bob had to have his voice box removed. “When we went to (the hospital in) Winston-Salem for the surgery, I knew I’d never hear his voice again, and that seemed like the worse thing possible. He had a beautiful, beautiful voice.”

Dreama recalled the pain of knowing what life would be like after the surgery. “Just the thought I’d never hear the words, ‘I love you,’ again,” she recalled, her voice trailing off into a somber moment of silence. “He always called me ‘Dreams.’ To know he’d never say ‘Dreams’ again.”