Roger Henry Davis

Roger Henry Davis (1933-2014)

A devoted family man, a deeply loyal friend and abundantly loved by so many, Roger Henry Davis passed away peacefully on October 19, 2014, with his beloved wife, Joan, and his only child, Julia Davis Dilts, by his side.

Until Roger fell ill from a brain injury in 2006, he lived and enjoyed life to the fullest. He loved to laugh, adored his Himalayan cat, Elliott, and led a joyful and purposeful life. He was a kind and generous man, privately very sentimental and deeply committed to family and friends. God blessed Roger in that he never knew that Julia's adoring husband and his treasured son-in-law, John Patrick Dilts, had passed away at age 46 on August 2, 2010. Because of Roger's serious condition, it was a gift that he was unaware of many of his family's and friends' passings.

Born October 1, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, to Henry & Mary Davis, the family moved to Park Ridge, New Jersey, when Roger was a young boy. He grew up in Park Ridge and graduated from Park Ridge High School. Roger loved his high school and was the Co-Captain of the basketball team, Vice-President of his senior class and voted All-Round Senior. From his high school years, he made lifelong friends with many of his fellow classmates.

After high school, he attended Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia, then immediately enlisted in the United States Army on June 23, 1955, and was trained and Camp Gordon (currently Fort Gordon) in Augusta, Georgia, at the military base's Signal Corps Training Center. Still today, Fort Gordon serves as an integral training center for Signal soldiers who provide communications technology to the Armed Forces and perform military intelligence tasks. From there, Roger was stationed at Fort Devens in the Montachusett Region of Massachusetts, then served in the 24th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Missile Battalion in Burlington, Massachusetts, and received the Good Conduct Medal from the United States Army.

He then set his sights on moving to Los Angeles in 1958 and drove cross-country with a close high school friend in his two-seater convertible. Roger called Sherman Oaks his new home and began his 35-year career with the US Postal Service. During his career, he lived in various cities throughout Southern California, including North Hollywood where his daughter was born. Roger loved the natural beauty and slower pace of Ventura County, especially Oak Park, and settled there permanently in 1987.

Roger's life changed happily forever in 1960 when he went into a corner pharmacy in North Hollywood for a Bireley's Chocolate Soda. There is where he met his future wife, a beauty named Joan Fay. He claimed it was love at first sight, and their first date took place at a Los Angeles Rams vs. Chicago Bears football game at the LA Coliseum. The young couple soon fell in love and married on September 23, 1961, at The Little Brown Church in North Hollywood. It was true love. They were soul mates and married for 53 wonderful years, and within the last 8 years of Roger's life, Joan had dedicated her life to taking care of Roger. When Julia sadly became a widow, she stayed with her parents in making sure that her father was safe and felt well-loved.

Roger enjoyed people from all walks of life and touched many people's hearts. Known for his sense of humor, compassion toward others and a father figure to many, he was also an avid reader of political thrillers as well as of the entire 29-book series of "The Cat Who" mysteries by author Lilian Jackson Braun, had an affinity for the arts, a history buff, chess player, a very particular gardener, a lover of nature and animals, a foodie and a collector of red wine. He loved his occasional glass of Cabernet with dinner and enjoyed playing baseball, basketball and tennis in his earlier years. His favorite moments were spending leisurely time with his family, friends and his daughter's friends whom he loved like his own children. Roger was a life-long, enthusiastic and passionate Dodgers baseball fan and had been since his boyhood days in New York when the baseball team was the Brooklyn Dodgers. He also loved the Los Angeles Lakers, where he often was seen watching the games with a signature cigar--preferably ones which his son-in-law would give him as gifts.

He was extremely proud of his daughter. She will always remember him as her best friend growing up--a supportive, gentle and driven father who encouraged her to pursue her dreams and goals in life, love and career; and like him, to always do the right thing. To Julia, he was a parent who was actively involved in her life--cheering her on during her volleyball and softball games, helping her with her homework, praising her for the little things and was always there to listen and say just the right things to comfort her.

Roger is survived by his devoted wife, Joan Davis; daughter, Julia Davis Dilts; sisters Linda Telgheder of Slate Hill, New York, and Shirley Schoonmaker of the hamlet of Wallkill, New York, and their families as well as many nieces and nephews and their families. He is preceded in death by his parents, Henry James Davis, born in Pennsylvania, and Mary Smith Davis, born in New York; sister Barbara Hynes of Moorestown, New Jersey; his son-in-law, John Patrick Dilts of San Mateo, California. Roger was honored and deeply touched when his niece and sister Barbara's daughter, Carol Hynes Lambersky, with her husband Adam Lambersky, named their only son, Roger Lambersky, after Carol's beloved Uncle Roger Davis.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, November 2, 2014, at the PIERCE BROTHERS VALLEY OAKS-GRIFFIN MEMORIAL, 5600 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village from 2-3:30pm. A reception and celebration of Roger's extraordinary life will follow at the Preston Family Home in Agoura Hills. Condolences may be left at:

http://www.dignitymemorial.com/valley-oaks-griffin-memorial-park/en-us/index.page