Robert James Franklin

Robert James Franklin was born on September 6, 1955 in Bronx, NY, the first of Bessie and Bobbie Franklin’s seven children. Although the family moved around a lot in Robert’s youth, they always stayed in the Bronx, only ever just a few stops away from extended family. Robert was a hard worker from a young age, getting his first job at just 14 years old. He enjoyed playing basketball on the public courts as well as playing numbers and card games at his grandmother, Louise Void’s, apartment.

Born in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, Robert was part of the first integrated classes at Taft High School in the Bronx, graduating in the class of 1973. He struck out on his own, attended some college, and ultimately left early to pursue his dream of becoming a musician.

Robert’s dreams of doing music professionally, coupled with his passion for freedom and adventure, led him to leave the Bronx for Kansas City, MO and Chicago, IL. As a young man out in the world, Robert honed his craft, and refined his singing, songwriting, composition, and production skills with his band(s). He also enjoyed dancing at nightclubs and large parties promoted by his friends Jimi Holloway and Charles Daniel back in NYC.

Robert returned to live in NYC and began training an R&B girls group in the hopes of scoring a record deal. To support himself, he also worked full time at North Central Bronx Hospital in environmental services, moving up from an entry-level tech to management over the course of his career.

During one of his club nights, he met who would become the love of his life, Janice Mitchell Franklin, and her then teenage daughter, Onika “Nikki” Williams Herman, of Brooklyn, NY. After falling in love, the two moved their family to Queens, where they gave birth to their second daughter, Janeé Franklin, and were wed in 1993.

By 2000, the dissolution of the girls’ group, coupled with dreams of starting life somewhere new prompted Robert, Janice, and Janeé to leave NYC for good and take a chance living in Virginia Beach, VA, one of their favorite family vacation spots. It was here that they raised Janeé into adulthood. Robert fondly recalled his time in VA Beach, enjoying the cleaner air, the peace and quiet, the bike trails near Mount Trashmore Park, and the beach and boardwalk. Robert also switched careers, taking his wife’s nickname “Mr. Fix It” to heart and becoming a commercial and residential maintenance technician, eventually moving up to a supervisory role.

In addition to pursuing music and winning “the big one,” one of Robert’s long held dreams was to become a homeowner. Robert was able to make that dream come true after he and Janice moved to the Greater Baltimore, MD area in 2012 to be closer to Nikki and her family in Takoma Park, MD and Janeé in Philadelphia, PA. Robert’s years of experience in maintenance and environmental services provided him with invaluable insights and skills that gave him the ability to care for the home inside and out with minimal assistance from expensive, third-party contractors. Once again, Robert felt at peace, now in his own home.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Robert celebrated his retirement in December 2020 surrounded by family and friends (virtually). Sadly however, in 2021, he lost his mother, Bessie, to complications from COVID-19, and his wife, Janice, to endometrial cancer. Despite his grief, Robert let another NY transplant, Valarie Barksdale, into his life in 2023. Robert greatly valued the kindness, generosity, and companionship that Valarie and her family provided him in his last years of life.

On April 2, 2025, Robert unexpectedly passed away following a hip replacement surgery, just a few months shy of what would have been his 70th birthday. He is survived by his two daughters, Janeé Franklin and Onika Williams Herman; his three grandchildren, Merichel, Merrick, and Mireille “Mimi” Herman; his son-in-law, Jeffrey Herman; his girlfriend, Valarie Barksdale; his remaining five siblings, Joyce Gonzales, Vertell Franklin, Donna Franklin, Leroy Franklin, and Jerome Franklin; and a score of extended family across multiple states.

Over the course of his life, Robert enjoyed some consistent hobbies. In addition to sports and music, he loved watching sci-fi, fantasy, and action movies and TV shows. He also enjoyed bicycle riding as well as making homemade kites to fly in parks during the Spring. While he loved to eat, he also was a good cook, making excellent fried chicken and cornbread. Robert also enjoyed nice clothes, cars, the latest electronics, and playing the lotto, often working overtime to pay for them.

He loved and deeply valued his immediate and extended family, even if he was far away from them physically. Despite his cut-to-the-bone directness and sometimes overbearing nature, he always hoped to encourage those around him to strive for their greatest potential, to act with integrity and accountability, to pursue their dreams, and to never give up. Although he could be gruff at times, he was ultimately loyal, fun-loving, and caring. Regardless of the various hardships he faced, Robert always made a point to have fun and laugh no matter the circumstances. He was a loving father, grandfather, husband, big brother, and uncle. But most of all, Robert was a dreamer. Even when his dreams failed to materialize, Robert always kept the faith and believed that anything was possible with faith in God, hard work, and determination. May we all honor Robert in our own lives by laughing, having fun, and striving to live as fearless dreamers.

Note from Janeé and Onika: Thank you for keeping our family in your thoughts. Per Robert’s request, we will not be holding a funeral service. However, we will be scattering his ashes over the summer per his instructions. We encourage you to honor him by leaving comments on this obituary or on his facebook profile page. If you would like to honor Robert’s memory in the form of a gift, we ask that in lieu of flowers, you consider a gift card or monetary contribution to support us during this time. We appreciate your kindness and care.