The Davenports Remembered

 

Fall River, Massachusetts-Friday, September 6, 2013

Today the Horans met at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Fall River to honor the passing of a family member, Bob Davenport.  The last member of the Horan-Davenport family legacy, the beautifully crisp and sun-filled service was attended by several members of the Horan clan.  Please take a moment to read about Bob Davenport's full and purposeful life.  Many wonderful and heartwarming stories were shared today by his cousins, clergy and friends who remembered him best. A fitting memorial to Bob and his beloved Davenport family:


(left to right) Anne Horan McMurrough, Claire Horan Brady, Bill Brady, John G. Horan, Patricia Horan Hand, Victor Hand

 

 

John Davenport, Gertrude Horan Davenport

(Written by John G. Horan)
Robert C. Davenport was born July 9, 1934 to Gertrude (nee Horan) and Jack Davenport in New Britain, CT, lived at 54 Seneca Street and attended New Britain High School. Later, his family moved to 59 Woodpond Rd., West Hartford, CT. Interested in aviation, he attended Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana from which he graduated in 1955 with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Bob was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army through the ROTC program and counted among his duty stations Fort Riley, KS and Fort Eustis, VA. His specialty while in the army was transportation. Upon discharge from the Army, Bob started his engineering career, working for Convair in San Diego, CA. He lived in La Jolla and enjoyed the beach and surfing. He worked for Martin Marietta in Denver, CO where he became a fan of University of Colorado football and skiing in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.  During that time, he earned a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering at University of Denver. While at Martin Marietta, he worked on the original propulsion systems for individual astronauts in space. Bob's last job was as an engineer for  Boeing Corporation in Crystal City, VA from which he retired in 2008. Prior to induction into an assisted living facility in 2010, he lived at 10732 Wayfarer Road, Germantown, MD.

 

Never married, Bob enjoyed visiting his parents, uncles, aunts and cousins in Fall River, MA, Newport, RI and South Dartmouth, MA. He truly loved the New England area, particularly southeastern MA and would often visit to take advantage of the beaches, particularly Horseneck Beach and Westport Harbor. During the 1980's and 1990's, he was an avid runner and participated in several Half Marathons one of which was in New Bedford, MA. 



Young Bob Davenport

Bob was very generous to his closest relatives.  For Christmas each year, his present to his parents and his Aunt Catherine of Fall River was travel, dinner and tickets to a Broadway play. The first of these was "My Fair Lady". Other presents were tickets for several years to Army-Notre Dame football games held in Philadelphia.



Robert and John Davenport

He was a gentleman in the purest sense of the word, and a good son, brother

and cousin. In later years, he cared for his brother, John who had an

extended illness. Robert Davenport died in May, 2013 in his sleep. He has no

survivors. At the time of his death, he was in assisted living care at Arden Courts, Kensington, MD.