Robert Eugene Daughtry's Obituary
Robert “Bob” Eugene Daughtry, businessman, veteran and family man, died in the early hours of January 24, 2016 from natural causes. He was 85 years old.He was born on June 27, 1930 in Temple,Texas, but moved as a teenager to northern California where his father Lynn brought a ranch. One of his great memories as a young man was as a crew member of a small sailing boat going from Long Beach, California to Honolulu, Hawaii. The boat nearly missed its destination and the trip took twice as long as scheduled, but all on board arrived safely.He voluntarily joined the Air Force and was assigned to fly fighter jets. While stationed in Florida, he met Margaret Janice Clawson. They married after a short courtship. A year later, they gave birth to their first daughter, Vicki Lynn, at a base hospital in Texas. He left the Air Force after one tour and moved his small family to southern California where he began his career in finance. He earned his BS in Business Administration from USC, which he earned attending classes on weekends and evenings while working full time.During the years in California, Bob and Margaret had four more children: Sheri Ann, Bradley Andrew, Robert Lance and Scott Branon.He used his expertise in finance in the development of proposals to win large government contracts for the companies at which he worked. After several years at Systems Development Corporation in Santa Monica, he was recruited by Planning Resource Corporation in 1973, located within the Beltway in northern Virginia. A career high point was being a part of the team that earned the government contact to design software for the first joint Apollo Soyuz flight in 1975, for which he and his family were invited to witness the historic launch at Cape Canaveral. Bob loved watching sports, particularly football, which he played in high school. He was a skilled swimmer and fisherman. He enjoyed playing Blackjack.Bob and Margaret retired to Cape Carol, Florida in 1999, where they built a home with views of the water. They celebrated 53 years of marriage. Margaret died in 2005.He is survived by his children and their spouses, Vicki and Robin Boyer, Sheri and Dick Osborne, Brad and Bryan Howard, Lance and Traci Daughtry, and Scott and Kim Daughtry, eight grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren.A Memorial Service for Robert will be celebrated at 2:00 PM on Saturday, January 30, 2016 in the Chapel at Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home and Cemetery, 1589 Colonial Boulevard, Fort Myers, Florida 33907, (239) 936-0555. Friends will be received for an hour prior to the service beginning at 1:00 PM. Military honors by the United States Air Force will be provided in the cemetery immediately following this service. At the conclusion of honors, Mr. Daughtry will be laid to rest in the Meditation Garden alongside his beloved wife Margaret.Those who wish to share a story, leave a tribute or offer condolences to the family should visit Mr. Daughtry’s memorial webpage at www.fortmyersmemorial.com and sign the guestbook.
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