Robert Marion Traylor Jr.

Another, and amongst the last of our gallant greatest generation, is now unto the ages and angels with the passage of Robert Marion “Bob” Traylor, Jr., Sunday morning, December 1, 2024. He was born in Little Rock on October 10, 1926, the sole child to the marriage of Marie Lasswell (1905-1977) and Robert, Sr. (1898-1976). They divorced in 1931, and mother and son repaired to her parents’ winter home in Tampa, Florida. There, Bob was under the tutelage of Marie’s three brothers and enjoyed the hijinks of cousins, Fred Lasswell, Jr. (1916-2001) and Tommy Lasswell (1919-2009). During summers they all returned to the family home in the town of Kennett in the boot hill of Missouri.

In 1938, Marie married Lindley R. Burkit (1900-1987) and the family returned to Little Rock. At age 15, Bob’s sophomore year at Little Rock High was interrupted by Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. With his father’s encouragement, in January 1942 he enrolled at Gulf Coast Military Academy, Gulfport, Mississippi where he graduated in June 1944. Attaining age 18 that October, he volunteered as a United States Merchant Marine. He served as a radio officer on various liberty ships moving troops and materiel trans-Atlantic, wolf packs be damned. He received his honorable discharge in 1947. That year he was accepted at Hendrix College where he graduated with the Class of 1949 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Bob had a 75-year career owning and operating various small businesses and investment properties. He held real estate broker and insurance licenses and certifications. He especially enjoyed working with his father in mining projects in Saline, Logan, and Izard/Independence Counties. He was a proud, lifelong yellow dog Democrat, except a short stint as a Rockefeller Republican. Bob served with distinction for two terms in the state legislature as a representative from Pulaski-Perry Counties from 1971 – 1975 during the heyday of the Dale Bumpers administration. He was also a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church splitting his time between Winfield UMC, now Quapaw Quarter UMC, where his great grandfather, Richardson Mortimer Traylor (1846-1922) pastored seven years during the 1880s, and Lakewood UMC.

Starting in 1985, Bob enrolled at UALR taking numerous courses, including painting, sculpture, pottery, and art history. He applied these skills at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, where his works were chosen for its Delta Triennial Exhibition. He was a member of the Little Rock Club for 65 years prior to its closure in 2020, and the Downtown YMCA for decades, where he was a regular city champion in singles and doubles handball. Bob enjoyed travelling, especially Hilo,

Hawaii visiting cousins, Jane Lasswell Hoff, and Julie Lasswell Dunn and her husband Mark, and Mexico, where he became something of an expert in Mesoamerican civilizations. Bob loved all things water, whether boating on our great lakes or the Arkansas River, and especially canoeing the upper Buffalo River where he sponsored an annual spring camp and float for 36 years. For decades Bob was a prime mover of monthly luncheons of the Old Hendrix Geezers Club and the Little Rock High School Delta Sigma Fraternity Club until all of his buddies died off.

Bob married Rita Mae Hogue (1928-2012) of Natchez, Mississippi, and North Little Rock in 1950 (Rita was also the sole child to divorced parents) and together conceived and reared seven children, all who survive, except the oldest, Robert Marion “Robin” Traylor, III (1951-2020). Bob was an avid listener, a great storyteller, a true southern gentleman, and a renaissance man. Bob fought the good fight and ran the good race until Sunday when prepping for brunch with friends his poor, old, worn out physical heart stopped beating, not to be revived.

Bob’s and Rita’s spiritual hearts are carried on by their children and their families: Leta Elizabeth Fawcett (husband Bunn), Teresa Marie Boykin (husband Lance), Daniel Murray Traylor (wife Mary), Laura Angela Davidson (husband Richard), Michelle Hogue Ketzscher (late husband Charles, 1956-2021), and David Sanford Traylor (wife Courtney); grandchildren, Angela Davidson McMurray (husband Alex), Michelle Fawcett Canode (husband Ray), Amanda Fawcett Campbell (husband Geoffrey), David Benjamin Fawcett, Charles Byron Ketzscher, III, Allison Murray Traylor, Henry David Traylor, Scottie Elizabeth Traylor, John McDaniel Traylor (wife Cortney) and Robert Marion Traylor, IV; step grandchildren, Landon Nicholas Boykin (wife Danielle), and Blake Austin Boykin; great grandchildren, Kaitlyn Rouse Riveira (husband Gabriel), Sierra Nicole Rouse, Evan Ray Canode, Parker Ray Canode, Davis Ray Canode, Grayson Edward Campbell, Sutton Elizabeth Campbell, Keegyn Lane Traylor, Tate McDaniel Traylor, Elijah Graham Traylor; and great, great grandchild, Astrid Rouse Riveira.

A celebration service and following reception are Monday, December 9, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. at Lakewood United Methodist Church, 1922 Topf Road (corner of Fairway and Topf), North Little Rock, Arkansas 72116-7421 followed by a short entombment ceremony at Griffin Leggett Rest Hills Memorial Park, 7724 Landers Road, North Little Rock. In lieu of flowers, a memorial may be made to Canvas Community Homeless Mission, 1111 West Seventh Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-3908, Lakewood United Methodist Church, or the charity of one’s choice. The service will be streamed online at Facebook Live and You Tube by Lakewood United Methodist Church for viewing. Online guestbook at www.dignitymemorial.com.