Robert Warmsley DeMott, Jr.

Sun Prairie-Robert Warmsley DeMott, Jr., age 88, passed away peacefully after a courageous battle with Alzheimer's disease on Wednesday, October 21, 2009. Called Bob by his family and friends, Robert W. DeMott, Jr. was born in New York City on June 21, 1921 to Robert W. and Bertha (Fix) DeMott. He graduated from Duke University in 1947 with a degree in mechanical engineering and in 1969 was a graduate of UCLA's Graduate School of Business Administration, Executive Program in Business Management. He was a member of Phi Delta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi. He had four children with his first wife, Jacqueline ""Jackie"" Quinn DeMott, who died on July 29, 1992. Throughout Bob's career, the family resided in Bronxville, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Orange County, CA, Milwaukee, WI and Fairfax, VA. After Jackie""s death, Bob moved back to WI and he met Ruby ""Penny"" Rodes when he joined the Sun Prairie United Methodist Church Choir. On May 10, 1997 Bob and Penny were married. Bob served in the United States Navy as an Aerial Photographer from 1942-1946 and in the Civil Engineer Corps from 1952-1954. In civilian life, he worked for Rex Chain Belt, which later became Rexnord, Inc. In 1981, he retired from the Milwaukee headquarters of Rexnord, Inc. after 30 years in sales, sales management and executive positions as president of the Conveying Equipment and Conveyor Components divisions. He then spent 6 years as the Executive Director of the Executive Committee, a management consulting firm for small businesses. He served for one year as the interim Executive Director of the Wisconsin World Trade Center in Milwaukee before finally retiring in 1988. During his professional career, Bob was active in the Consular Corps of Wisconsin, the International Institute of Wisconsin, the Kiwanis Club of Milwaukee and the Rotary Club of Los Angeles, CA. During retirement, he was also a member of the Sun Prairie Rotary Club. As a community volunteer, Bob was a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts, a Sunday school teacher, and an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church. During his retirement, he traveled to many places around the world. He volunteered for the Oceanic Society, studying cetacean ecology in Baja, CA, The Yucatan, Hawaii, Polynesia, Belize and the Bahamas. His personal favorite areas of study were documenting the impact of vessels and humans on dolphin habitats and understanding the social systems of free-ranging dolphins. He is survived by his loving wife, Penny, four children, Diane DeMott (David) Painter of Round Hill, VA, Robert Knox (Susan) DeMott of Green Bay, Denise DeMott (John) Edmunds of LaCrosse, and Roy McMillan (Meg) DeMott of Springfield, VA; two step-children, Richard Rodes of Chicago and Lenora Rodes of Madison; ten grandchildren, Elizabeth Painter of Washington, D.C., Katherine Valladares of Woodbridge, VA, Jennifer (Quame) Buah and Sarah (Nathan) Castner of Madison, David DeMott of Green Bay, Jackie, Kyle and Patty Edmunds of LaCrosse, and Quinn and Bridget DeMott of Springfield, VA; great-grandchildren, Gabriela Avila and Abriana Valladares of Woodbridge, VA. A Memorial Service will be held at Sun Prairie United Methodist Church, 702 North Street, Sun Prairie at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 30, 2009 with Pastor Scott Carlson officiating. A time of gathering will be held on Friday at the church form 10:00 a.m. until the time of service. The family wishes that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org) or HospiceCare, 5395 E. Cheryl Parkway, Madison, WI 53711. A special thanks to Cheryl Ungaro facility manager, and her caring staff at Harmony Assisted Living for helping Bob during these difficult last years. Also, much appreciation to HospiceCare for helping to make his last weeks comfortable and giving support to the family.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Service

1310 Emerald Terrace

Sun Prairie (608) 837-9054

 

www.cressfuneralservice.com