Robert Frederick Fowler Jr.

He was born on April 24, 1933, in Warrenton, Georgia, and was raised, in part, by his grandmother, Lena Raley Fowler. After graduating from Warrenton High School, he received a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1955. He was a member of Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity. He married Laura Cornelia Johnson of Thomson, Georgia, on August 25, 1956. After serving in the U.S. Air Force in Florida, he worked for AT&T in Atlanta. In 1960, he joined an Atlanta-based investment firm - The Robinson-Humphrey Co., Inc. After 40 years in the financial industry, he retired from Smith Barney in 2000. After relocating to Albany, Georgia, in 1963, he was active at Porterfield Memorial United Methodist Church, where he taught 5th and 6th grade Sunday School for 25 years. He was active in the Albany Kiwanis Club and served as a board member at the Citizens Bank in Warrenton. In 2006, he and Laura moved to St. Simons Island, Georgia, where they were active at Wesley United Methodist at Frederica and were members of the St. Simons Land Trust.

More than anything, Bob Fowler loved people, and he never met a stranger. Bob loved the Boston Red Sox, Walt Disney World, the Western author Louis L’Amour, The Born Loser newspaper cartoon, and the films Smokey and the Bandit, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and The Hunt for Red October. For many years, he would spend Saturdays fishing down at the Econfina River in Florida. For over 40 years (in June), the Fowler family would spend a week at the Wave Crest Court in Sunnyside, Florida. Bob loved hot dogs, oatmeal, boiled peanuts, Red Hots, See’s Candies, and his favorite spot on St. Simons – Gould’s Inlet.

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Laura Johnson Fowler; three children – The Rev. Robert F. Fowler, III, Darrell J. Fowler (Susan), and Elizabeth F. Sampey (Brad); six grandchildren – Robert F. Fowler, IV (Rick), Darrell J. Fowler, Jr. (Jack), William Patrick Sampey, Katherine F. Duncan, Laura Rainey Fowler, and Mary Elizabeth Sampey; and two great-grandchildren – Henry David Duncan and Damon James Fowler. He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert F. Fowler, Sr., who died in 1940, and Nellie Lou Tippins Fowler, who died in 1934.

A graveside service for Robert F. Fowler, Jr., will be held on Saturday, January 27, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. at Sallie Hill Cemetery in Warrenton, Georgia. The Rev. Robert F. Fowler, III will officiate.

A memorial service will be held at a later date in Warrenton, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Simons Land Trust (www.sslt.org).