Robert “Bobby” Raymond Lavender Sr., 64, a native of Ritchton, Miss. and a longtime resident of Daphne, passed away Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011.
Bobby began his career with the Daphne Police Department in 1974. After progressing through the ranks, he retired in 2001 as the Assistant Chief of Police. He was a Daphne Volunteer Firefighter, and helped establish the organization of the Daphne Search and Rescue Team. He received a Presidential award for saving a man from the frozen waters of Mobile Bay. Bobby was proud to be known as the “Gator Catcher” for the city of Daphne. He was a Past Master of Spanish Fort Lodge 916, 32rd Degree Scottish Rite Mason, Valley Of Mobile Orient Of Alabama, and a member of the ABBA Temple Shrine.
He will be missed by his wife of 17 years, Joyce Lavender, of Daphne; son, Bobby Lavender Jr. and his wife, Tonya, of Westerly, R.I.; daughters, Annette Dowdle and her husband, John, of Covington, La., Sonya Cuervo and her husband, Richard, of Dallas, Ga.; six grandchildren, Dakota and Macayla Lavender, Ricky Cuervo, Cole, Katelyn and Jackson Dowdle; father, John Holman of Seminole, many other relatives; and friends.
A Funeral service was held Sunday afternoon from the chapel of Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home, Daphne. Interment followed in Jubilee Memorial Gardens, Daphne.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorials be made to the Baldwin County Humane Society, P.O. Box 206, Fairhope, AL 36533, www.baldwinhumane.org .
