Robert "Bob" David Cawley Sr.

Born in Westerly, Rhode Island, to John and Hazel (Hanley) Cawley, Bob was an excellent athlete who excelled in both basketball and baseball in High School in Syracuse, New York. Upon graduation at age 18, he enlisted in the Army, becoming a member of General Westmoreland's band as an Alto Sax player and traveling around the Country with the prized ensemble. He liked to send newspaper clippings home to his mom with pictures of him in the band playing somewhere far from home.

As a Paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division, Bob should have gotten his fill of jumping out of high places, but his wife, nephews, niece and several friends can attest to his affinity for skydiving and for Bungie Jumping off bridges, cranes, and hot air balloons for years.

After the Army, Bob enrolled in Syracuse University and graduated four years later with his B.S. Degree in Marketing. As a Regional Sales Manager for Torrington Machine Company, he traveled the East Coast and Canada for several years. He and his first wife, Dottie Davis, lived in Chicago and Connecticut before he tired of the winters and moved to California in 1973. His son, Robert, Jr. lived mostly with his mom after their divorce in 1972, but he ultimately moved to California also, where he lived alternately with his dad and Julene and with friends in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Always suffering from severe asthma, Robert passed away from health complications at age 42.

After a five-year courtship, Bob and Julene married on April 1st, 1978. They had already spent three weeks traveling throughout England, Scotland and Ireland in 1977, and over their years together their travels included three weeks each in New Zealand and Australia; South America; South Africa; the Far East; Europe twice; and ocean cruises to the Caribbean, the Western and Eastern Mediterranean, the Baltic Sea, the Panama Canal and Alaska, plus weeks in Jamaica, Maui and Kauai. Their last big trip was a Viking River Cruise from Amsterdam to Lake Geneva in 2014. Since 1993 they also loved spending a week at their Time Share on the beach in Cancun. When they couldn't make it to Cancun, they exchanged their week for trips to New York, San Francisco, Paris, Hilton Head, and Las Vegas.

As many of his friends knew, while Bob was a great Bartender, he himself hadn't had a drink since 1981, crediting the 12 Steps of AA in getting him sober and also becoming an ex-smoker in 1983.

In the mid-80's, Bob founded Shepherd Precision, Inc. in Santa Clara, named after their dog at the time. As a precision machining manufacturer, Bob had customers that included a wide variety of both small and multimillion dollar Bay Area and Silicon Valley companies, many of which required high security clearances for their parts and products. He sold Shepherd Precision in 2001, before moving from San Jose to Cameron Park. As an avid snow skier and golfer, Bob wanted to be closer to both the mountains and a golf course, and he stayed active up until this past summer when his health took a dramatic turn for the worst.

Always a devoted dog owner, having enjoyed the companionship of five female Black Labs, two German Shepherds and three Golden Retriever mixes over the years with Julene, Bob is survived by his devoted dogs, Dexter and Bella; his wife of over 37 years, Julene; his brother Mark (Kathy) in Nashville; nephews John (Ruby) and Kevin, niece Kathy (Len) in the Bay Area; several grand nieces and nephews. He is already missed beyond words by his family and closest friends, as well as by everyone who knew and golfed with him at Cameron Park Country Club, and by countless wonderful friends around the country and New Zealand. We expect that he's already golfing in the clouds.