In Memory

Robert Davis

Robert Howard Davis
March 2, 1944 - January 20, 2014

Resident of Watsonville
Robert (Bob) Davis, 69, of Watsonville died unexpectedly Monday. He was born to the late Margot Howard and Robert Bernard Davis, March 2, 1944, in Holyoke, MA where his father was stationed in the US Army. Because his father was an English professor, Bob spent the remainder of his childhood in towns with small liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Iowa. He graduated from Columbian High School in Tiffin, Ohio in 1962; Occidental College in 1966; and the University of Southern California School of Dentistry in 1970, where he met his future wife, Caroline Malmgren. 
In 1972, Bob and Caroline moved to Watsonville where he practiced dentistry for 34 years. He had a unique talent for turning a patient into a friend. He also took great pleasure as a teacher of dentistry in helping both other dentists and assistants to improve their skills. 
The Pajaro Valley and his ranch provided the perfect setting for Bob to be: a 4-H leader, Santa Cruz County Fair supporter and a youth basketball and baseball coach. Bob found a lot of enjoyment in woodworking, fishing and fence mending, as well as in being an avid San Francisco 49ers and Giants fan. Bob was well known by both family and friends as an enthusiastic storyteller.
He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Caroline, his three daughters: Heather (Raymond) Desrocher of Naples, FL; Autumn (Chris) Moran of Marblehead, MA; Lauren (Justin) Taylor of Aptos, CA; and a son, Brian Davis. He is also survived by five grandchildren; and his brother, Charlie Davis of Burlingame, CA.
The family asks, that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Watsonville YMCA, the Salsipuedes Little League, or the Watsonville High School Athletic Department. A memorial will be held this coming summer.
- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/santacruzsentinel/obituary.aspx?pid=169264036#sthash.zaOKxeSH.dpuf



 
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01/31/14 03:23 PM #3    

Steve Keller

Very sad to hear about Bob.  Our prayers are with Bob's family.  

Steve and Midge Keller


01/31/14 04:43 PM #4    

Jim Flechtner

What sad news!  Bob was one of my earliest friends, starting at least with first grade and probably with kindergarten.  We had a nice talk at the reunion and relived some old times.  I will greatly miss him.

Jim


02/01/14 02:23 PM #5    

Paul Paulus

Bob and I lived on the same street near Heidelberg College. We were an immigrant family, and he enjoyed getting to know us and was always gracious to us.  He was one the "important people" in my school life in Tiffin, and I was delighted that he finally came to our 50th reunion.  We spent a lot of time reminiscing and sharing about our lifes. We were part of an active informal "debate group" that enjoyed intellectual jousting about all kinds of issues.  He was very proud of his family and obviously had a great career.  He said he was sorry he waited so long to reconnect with his classmates and planned to make the next reunion.  I have enjoyed wearing the T-shirt he provided, and it has brought smiles on people's faces.  I am glad to have known Bob and had some recent time to reconnect.   His premature passing is a big shock.  My thoughts and prayers are with the family.

Paul Paulus

 

 


02/02/14 11:52 AM #6    

Mary Jo Harger (Anderson)

When I was in 4th grade, a change of school boundries forced me to go to College Hill for that one year.  I remember Bob Davis from that day on, a really sweet guy and one all the girls had a crush on.  One day, Diane Turner, Jerry Haines and I were flirting with him (as a 4th grader can do), and he started chasing us over the fields near the school.  Diane fell down, tore her knee, and Bob came up .... so apologetic.  On through Jr. Hi and Hi School, I always had great respect for him.

I'm sorry he left us so early and so sorry to his family for their loss.


02/06/14 08:48 PM #7    

Dick Wetzel

I am shocked and saddened at Bob's passing.  We first met at Armstrong Field (Heidelberg's old football practice field) shortly after he first arrived in town.  I don't remember if we were first graders yet, but we lived close to each other and became good buddies until I left College Hill for Lincoln in the fourth grade, and then again when we entered junior high.  I was really excited to see Bob at the 50th, since I hadn't seen him since  high school graduation.  We sure had a lot of old times to review.  Reunions are precious times, since you never know, at this point in our lives, who will be gone the next time.  I wish all our classmates would attend.  My prayers are with Bob's family.  I hope he's enjoying that ultimate reunion with Fred Kishler, Paul Cook, Cindy Olds, Paul Swander, Camille Sell, et al.  


02/08/14 08:34 AM #8    

Stephen "Steve" Wilcoxson

Spam filters can be good and bad...in this case extremely shocking.  Not checking it for quite a while I was thrown for a loop to find the messages about Bob's passing.  We met at College HIll in the fifth grade when like several others I was shifted from another school, in this case Monroe Street.  Several events stand out in my mind.  We stayed up late one night at his house, watching the final four and eating pizza that we made with toppings found in the Davis's refrigerator.  Another time we built a "treehouse" in my back yard.

But the most memorable was when Hugo Bietz's family moved to Tiffin from Germany.  "Hermie" Williams pulled Bob and me aside and asked us to take Hugo under our wings and teach him English.  One episode of this teaching effort came when we took him to an all cartoons show at the Ritz.  I looked up the name for movie in German, '"keno" I think, and explained to his mother we were taking him to a "keno".   No problem and off we went.

Memory is a facinating thing; we remember points herre and there.  The three of us sat on the right side down by the exit and Hugo, between Robert and me, laughed joyfully throughout the show although I doubt he knew more than a few words.

When he was designing the shirts Bob asked me how he could get the cartoon tornado.  I "clipped" it from somewhere on the web and sent it to him.  "Like this?'"  I guess he'd forgotten how to capture something.

I miss you Bob and the sporadiic communications we had through the years.  I like the comment about how he is in a reunion with our other classmates.


02/14/14 12:54 PM #9    

Jane Thompson (Paige)

I was so sorry to hear of Bob's sudden and unexpected death.  Although I hadn't seen Bob for over 50 years, it seems he never stopped being the nice guy I knew at Columbian.  He was a good friend and student.  Bob carved little wood Tiki god statues, all the rage back then, for many of us.  I kept mine for years and years and always thought of Bob when I came across it in my jewelry box.  Dentistry, woodworking and a good family were the perfect mix for his life and talents.  My deepest sympathy to his family.


02/15/14 01:00 PM #10    

Stephen "Steve" Wilcoxson

Good golly, I'd forgotten all aout the Tiki gods Bob carved.  I carved one, too, and  somewhere in my vast junk pile is a fond memory of Bob.


02/16/14 09:56 AM #11    

James Funderburg

I remember Bob going to Friendship, Indiana, to the national muzzleloading rifle shoot with us in ~1960.  


04/20/15 10:32 PM #12    

Jean Byrum (Davis)

I apologize for not knowing about Bob after all this time. I regret that I haven't been on here to know more about my my classmates.

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