Death has a way of turning a person into a list of dates. You see the name, the birth, the dash, and the end. But honestly, if you ever heard a game called by the legendary broadcaster or saw the skyline of Daytona Beach, you know a simple obituary for Robert Davis doesn't really cover the ground. We lost a couple of significant "Bob Davises" recently—one a titan of the airwaves in Kansas and another who basically built the tourism vibe in Florida. It's kinda wild how one name can represent such different, yet massive, legacies.
Bob Davis, the voice of the Kansas Jayhawks and the Kansas City Royals, passed away in March 2025, followed shortly by his wife Linda. Then, in the summer, we lost the Volusia County tourism powerhouse, also a Bob Davis. When people search for an obituary for Robert Davis, they’re usually looking for one of these two men who defined their respective worlds.
The Voice That Defined Kansas Sports
If you grew up in the Midwest, Bob Davis wasn't just a guy on the radio. He was the soundtrack to your Saturday afternoons. He called Kansas Jayhawks football and basketball for nearly four decades. Think about that. Thirty-one years of "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk" ringing through the airwaves.
He didn't just talk; he painted. You’ve probably heard his call of the 2008 NCAA National Championship. When Mario Chalmers hit "The Shot," it was Bob’s voice that broke, carrying the weight of an entire fan base’s anxiety and eventual elation. He had this way of making a random Tuesday night game against an unranked opponent feel like the Super Bowl.
- Broadcasting career: 1968 to 2016.
- The Royals era: He spent 16 years in the booth for the Kansas City Royals.
- Fort Hays State: Before the big lights, he was the voice of the Tigers for 20 years.
He was 80 when he passed at the Pioneer Ridge Retirement Community in Lawrence. It’s a bit poetic, really. He died in the city where he became a legend. But the story got even sadder for those following the family. His wife, Linda, passed away just one week before him. They were married for over 50 years. People around Lawrence say he didn't just die of old age; he died because he couldn't imagine a world without her. That’s not a fact you’ll find in a dry police report, but anyone who knew them says it’s the truth.
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Daytona’s Biggest Advocate: The Other Robert Davis
Switch gears to the East Coast. If the Kansas Bob Davis was the voice of sports, the Florida Robert Davis was the engine of an industry. He was 87 when he passed in July 2025 after a brutal fight with multiple types of cancer.
As the President and CEO of the Lodging and Hospitality Association of Volusia County, he was basically the "Mr. Daytona." He moved there in the 60s and managed the Hawaiian Inn for twenty years. You can't talk about the rise of Daytona Beach as a tourism juggernaut without mentioning him. He was the guy calling local officials at 11 p.m. to talk about school funding or hotel taxes. He was relentless.
The interesting thing about the obituary for Robert Davis in Florida is how much it focuses on his grit. Even while undergoing chemo for liver and pancreatic cancer, he was showing up. Daytona State College even named a scholarship after him while he was still fighting. That tells you everything. People don’t name scholarships after you while you're still around unless you've made an indentation in the community that won't ever smooth over.
Why These Obituaries Keep Trending
You might wonder why people are still searching for these details months or even a year later. It’s because these men represented a "local hero" era that feels like it’s slipping away.
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In a world of national broadcasts and corporate-owned hotels, these guys were local. Bob in Kansas stayed for 31 years. He wasn't looking for the next big market or a national ESPN gig that would take him away from Lawrence. He liked it there. He liked the people.
Similarly, the Florida Bob Davis was a "boots on the ground" leader. He wasn't some distant executive in a glass tower. He was at the luncheons. He was on the front lines of every tourism board meeting. When someone like that leaves, it creates a vacuum. People search for their obituaries because they’re trying to piece together what the community looks like without its main pillar.
What Really Happened with the "Other" Robert Davises?
Look, "Robert Davis" is a common name. If you're searching for an obituary, you might also stumble across Robert "Bob" Lee Davis from Benton Harbor, who passed at 93 in early 2026. He was a plumber who started his own business in 1966. Or Robert Charles Davis, who hit 98 years old before passing on New Year’s Day 2026 in Ohio.
There's even a darker side to the search results. A Robert Davis linked to cold cases in Spokane died on parole in Boise in late 2025. This is the messy reality of the internet. You search for a beloved broadcaster and find a crime report.
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It’s important to distinguish between them. The broadcaster and the tourism leader are the ones who left a public, cultural mark. The others left private, family legacies. Both matter, but they serve different purposes for the person searching.
Actionable Steps for Honoring a Legacy
If you’re here because you’re grieving one of these men or simply researching their impact, there are actual things you can do. It’s better than just reading a screen.
- Support the Bob Davis Culinary and Hospitality Endowed Scholarship at Daytona State College if you want to keep the Florida legacy alive.
- Donate to the Landon Center on Aging via KU Endowment. This was a cause close to the Kansas broadcaster’s family.
- Share a specific memory. Legacy.com and local funeral home sites like Starks & Menchinger or Warren-McElwain have guestbooks. Honestly, families read those for years. Mentioning a specific game call or a time he helped your business means more than a generic "sorry for your loss."
The life of a person named Robert Davis—whether he was a "Goose," a "Bob," or a "Pops"—isn't defined by the day he died. It’s defined by the volume of the "Rock Chalk" chant or the success of a local hotel. Take a second to look at the scholarship funds or the community centers they supported. That's where the real story lives.
To stay updated on memorial services or to contribute to the specific foundations mentioned, visit the official university or college endowment portals directly. Avoid third-party "tribute" sites that often scrape data for clicks; stick to the funeral home’s direct website or established news outlets like the Lawrence Journal-World or the Daytona Beach News-Journal for the most accurate, family-approved information.