Robert Killey Davids

Robert Killey Davids was born in Syracuse, NY on July 1, 1950.  He was the third son of Hugh and Doris Davids.  He was brought home to 520 Clarendon St, a two story home across the street from Thornton Park and a few blocks from the Syracuse University campus. When he reached school age, Robert walked to Sumner Elementary School with his older brother Peter. 
  
Robert’s family moved to DeWitt, a suburb of Syracuse, when he was eight and a year later General Electric transferred his father to Lynchburg, VA.  Robert graduated from E. C. Glass High School in Lynchburg. 
  
Robert did the usual boy activities – playing with friends, picnicking with the family, vacationing throughout the United States and Canada, hiking in the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains, youth football, and Scouts.  Robert, through determined effort, earned many Boy Scout merit badges, finishing with the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. 
  
After high school, where Robert participated in the band in woodwinds and percussion, he went to Wheaton College earning a bachelor’s degree in Biology as well as receiving a commission of 2 Lt in the US Army Reserve Medical Service Corps.  By this time Robert had developed a desire to help people and was not satisfied with his work of laboratory analyses so he studied Public Health Administration at the University of North Carolina.  As the Army’s needs changed, he was shifted to an Army Ranger unit.  To maintain his commission with that unit Robert became jump qualified.  In short, Capt. Davids jumped out of perfectly good airplanes. 
  
Public health administration was not helping people personally enough for Robert, so he went back to school earning a nursing degree from Georgetown University. He worked in that field, first in hospitals and then in Jessup prison, Maryland’s high security prison, a particularly challenging and self-sacrificial service, until his health forced him to retire last year. 
  
As a nurse Robert became involved with Nurses’ Christian Fellowship.  During a worldwide conference in Philadelphia, where Robert was a helper, Joy Basco asked him to provide transportation from DC to Philadelphia for her sister-in-law, Monina, attending from the Philippines.  Robert later went to the Philippines to meet Monina’s family.  In December of 1990 Robert and Monina got married in metro Manila, PI. 
  
Robert and Monina have lived in Northwest DC for the past 27 years since she was able to join him in 1991. Both have always been active in church through their lives, so it is no surprise that they were very active in River of God Church, where Robert was Sunday School ministry head, treasurer, and a deacon, the longest serving deacon since the start of the church. 
  
Robert passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 30, 2018 at the Washington Hospital Center, after several months of bout with cancer. He  is survived by his caring wife Monina, his beloved brothers John Harold (Donna Jean) and Peter Hugh (Judith Lee), and nephews and nieces Steven Hugh (Laura), John Eric (Anubala), Micah Christian (Tamara), Elaine Marie (Greg Unrau), Gwenda Lee (Brent Bilsky), Ian Hugh (Buffi), and 17 grandnephews and grandnieces .  
  
Viewing will be held at the Twinbrook Community Church, 5906 Halpine Road, Rockville, MD 20851 on August 2, 2018 starting at 4 PM. Interment will be on August 3, 2018 at 9 AM at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery. 
  
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be given in Robert's behalf to: 
Nurses Christian Fellowship 
www.ncf-jcn.org 
            or 
River of God Church 
651 Pullman Place 
Gaithersburg, MD 20877