Mr. Robert William Davis

2021 from a stroke. He was born March 14, 1937 to Robert E and

Margaret O. Davis in Cedar Hill, Texas. He graduated from Cedar Hill High

School in 1955, and soon after married Edna Wilson. Together they raised

two daughters, Valerie and Debra.

He worked a variety of jobs as a young man. As a youngster, he was

expected to pick cotton in the fields along side his mother and sister Joan.

He was not impressed with that job as it really didn’t pay well at 5 cents a

pound. His favorite job in high school was hauling hay for Mrs. Hamilton.

He was upgraded there with a raise to 50 cents an hour, but the best part

was she had an old truck he could drive. He and his best friend, Marvin,

would drive that old truck down the hay furrows and throw the bails onto

the truck. They would often fight over who got to drive the truck! He also

worked for a while at a shop making kilns. After that he worked for Sears

and Roebuck in the shipping department cutting boxes down for mail-order. He

went on to Oak Cliff Bank handling money in the vault. Now he liked

handling money alright, but it wasn’t HIS money so that didn’t work out

for him either. Next, he drove a parts delivery truck for Doran Chevrolet.

His first day on the job he totaled the delivery truck but they didn’t fire him

because he was just so charming. At this point he was getting closer to

his calling but not quite there yet. He took a job in the maintenance department

at the defense plant, called LTV at the time. He would often reminisce

about those days with fond memories. He worked in the machine shop

which involved making airplane parts with exact precision. He made many

friends there and actually recalled it being a “fun” time…..except for

having to punch a clock. That wasn’t going to work long term for him.

His real passion was wheeling and dealing, buying and selling.

After 10 years at the defense plant, he made a big career change starting a

business, with his then father in law, HC Wilson. This was the mid sixties

and he had found his element! They began by buying out companies

having “close out sales”. He often said they carried everything from

bobby pins to bird cages. This was until they fell upon a buyout for

PepBoys Automotive, a nationwide parts chain that decided to pull out of

Texas in the mid seventies. (They came back to Texas in later years to be

one of his friendly competitors) That buyout launched the idea of

narrowing the inventory to auto parts. The auto parts business proved to

be his final calling. He had found his niche. D & W Auto Parts and

Machine Shop became a booming business in the seventies. They were

known for having one of the biggest parts inventories in the metroplex for

years. It was an icon on the corner of Cockrell Hill Road and West

Jefferson for over 34 years. His employees were very, very special to him

and always considered to be family. In 1999 the business was lost in a

devastating fire that took out the whole block in two directions. He was 62

at the time and decided the time was right for retirement.

He married Rita, his wife of 39 years, in 1982. Together they raised a son,

Chris, and daughter, Chelsea. Being 52 when the baby, Chelsea, was

born, he took more time to enjoy family and friends. He loved fishing and

water sports. He loved kids of all ages and introduced several

generations of kids to boat life. He taught them to water ski and pulled

them for hours and hours on the water toys behind his boat. He loved to

travel, especially cruising with family and friends. Being outside working on

a latest project always made him happy. He loved his Pappy’s Park and

especially the grandkids, goats and chickens that fill the area. His wild

turkey, Tom, that visits daily will miss him for sure.

Robert is survived by his wife, Rita; four children: daughter, Valerie Kahn

and husband, Fred; daughter Debra Fernandez and her husband Rudy;

son Chris Clements; and daughter, Chelsea Cronin and her husband

Jeremy; fourteen grandchildren and seven great grands (counting one one

the way); also siblings: Elaine Davis Elliott and Phillip L. Davis sister in law,

Mary Brooks, and many cousins. nieces, and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Margaret Davis and

sister, Joan Swaim.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.laurellanddallas.com for the Davis family.