Robert (Bob) Rauch Davies passed away peacefully on Sat, October 24, 2020. Bob was born in Denver, Colorado on January 5, 1941 to Maurice and Margaret Davies. In 1946, when Bob was 5, the family moved to Boulder, Colorado and the family grew to 4 when his sister Dorothy was born.
Bob graduated from Boulder High School in 1959 then proceeded to college at University of Colorado Boulder, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics and Astronomy. He continued his love of education and science while attending Graduate School at the University of Wisconsin. He graduated with a Masters Degree in Astronomy. His fascination with the stars continued as he completed his Doctorate coursework in Astro-Physics, on the spectra of Jupiter, while in Virginia.
In his college years, he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, awarded the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship and won a coveted Science Fair Grand Prize at the National Bureau of Standards for his work on the Tesseract, a 4 dimensional cube, in Physics.
Bob loved to share his knowledge and began his career teaching Astronomy in Colby College, Maine. In 1971 he moved back to Boulder to become the Author/Editor of New Silver Technology for the Silver Institute of Washington, DC, through the firm Klein & Saks. He continued in this position until 1990.
While working at the Silver Institute in 1986 he started his own company, Robert R Davies & Associates, that provides supported employment for developmentally disabled adults.
After his tenure at the Silver Institute, Bob went back to work at CU in the Law Review and Library Acquisitions Departments until he ‘retired’ in 1996. Bob was never one to ‘really retire’. He was a brilliant researcher and continued with various research projects for the family business and other endeavors.
Bob met his future lifetime bride, Dr. Janet Mansfield, EdD, in 1976 when he was the President of the Swinging Singles Square Dance Club. Bob & Jan were married on December 27, 1977 and he became the instant father to Jan’s 3 children, Traci, Jeff and Jon.
Bob enjoyed being in nature and had a deep love for hiking and camping. He and Jan enjoyed those activities as well as square dancing, and their love of science. Bob was an avid stamp collector. Most of all, he was passionate about learning, researching and discovering.
His relationship with God was important to him, he had attended 1st Presbyterian Church in Boulder, Boulder Cornerstone and most recently Restoration Messianic Fellowship.
Bob was an amazing family man. When he married Janet, not only did he become a father to 3 children, but his sons Jeff & Jon have autism. He then had a new passion: he started another business, the 3J’s Mailing Service. The 3J’s is a bulk mailing service for his sons so they could work and be active members of the community. The 3J’s is a small business that will continue the legacy he began.
It takes an incredible person of character to take on the responsibilities and commitment of loving and providing for those with disabilities. He knew about the struggles of living with and not allowing disabilities to define him as he had epilepsy, overcame prostate cancer and in recent years battled bladder cancer. He was an optimistic man who was also a generous, loving, and patient, husband, father, grandfather and friend.
He was preceded in death by his parents Maurice & Margaret. He is survived by Janet, his wife of 42 years, Traci Evans & her husband Bruce, his sons Jeff & Jon, his grandchildren Jordan Evans & his wife Miho, and Ciara Evans. He is also survived by his sister Dorothy Johnson and her husband Henry, and nephew Chuck.
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