Robert Henry (Bob) Davis

Robert (Bob) Henry Davis, 80, died Sunday February 24, 2019 at Sunrise of Crabtree following an extended heroic battle with Alzheimers disease. Bob was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1938 to the late Elizabeth Rose Davis and Milton Francis Davis. He was raised by a single mom as an only child. He worked as a soda jerk in a neighborhood pharmacy, before he was hired by IBM in Endicott NY in 1959. He met the love of his life Mary Flanagan on a blind date in 1960, married her in 1961, and unexpectedly welcomed twins in 1962. They added two more children to the station wagon in 1965 and 1968 to fill all the seats. Despite his lack of a college degree he proceeded to excel in his career at IBM. After being one of the first 100 IBM employees to relocate to the new RTP facility in 1965, Bob contributed to some of the key IBM programs such as technology at the Olympics and the NASA space program. He has numerous patents issued in his name for IBM, including prior art for touch screens and anti-lock brakes. He retired from IBM in 1991. Even as he worked his way up the ladder at IBM, he always had time for his family. He was an active participant in all of his children’s activities. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Indian (Y) Guides, baseball and soccer coach. He cherished the time spent camping, hiking, or on the sideline of the field with his children and their friends. After Bob retired, he was fortunate to fill his life with his nine grandchildren, traveling the globe with his wife, and various volunteer endeavours. If there was a church committee that needed a helping hand or a chairperson, Bob was always available to assist. Even though his disease may have robbed him of precious memories, those memories remain alive with those he with whom he shared them. Bob is survived by his wife of 57 years Mary; children Bob (Tammy), Maureen (Larry), both of Raleigh, Katie (Alan) of Austin, TX, and Mike (Linda) of Cary; grandchildren Caitlin, Chris, Erin, Grayson, Catherine, Ally, Alex, Ian and Emily; and many extended family, and friends. The Davis family would would like to thank the staff at Sunrise for providing a safe and loving space for Bob in the twilight of his life; as well as the care and assistance from Transitions LifeCare. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to the Dementia Alliance of North Carolina or Transitions LifeCare, in memory of Bob. Mass of the Resurrection will be held at Our Lady Of Lourdes Catholic Church in Raleigh on Saturday March 2nd at 11am, followed by a reception in the Fallon Center. The family will receive friends one hour before the service in the gathering space at the church. We are all of comforted that Bob Davis is in a place where he knows who Bob Davis is again.