Robert (Bob) Bowen DeVane was born in Roanoke Rapids, NC on May 13, 1942. He grew up in Norfolk, VA, where he apprenticed to be a newspaper printer. He was the only child of his mother and two older half-brothers. His father worked at the Virginia Pilot Newspaper.
He served in the Air Force from 1960-1964 in the Field Maintenance Squadron as an Administrative Specialist at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. He then moved to Phoenix where he worked as a printer for the AZ Republic Newspaper for more than 30 years. He served as an adult Bible Study teacher for more than 50 years and in The Turkey Club, a social group for retired men.
His mother took him to church every Sunday where “he sailed many an airplane off the second floor Sunday School window.” He made a profession of faith in his early teens because he thought it was expected of him.
It wasn’t until he was in the Air Force in Florida that he met a deacon who befriended him. He took Bob to his church where Bob heard a simple Gospel message. But, he always said it was the love that little church showed him, a lonely, home-sick airman, that helped him understand God’s love for him. He accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior. He has now been teaching the Bible for 50 years!
One of his favorite verses is Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith. And that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.
Bob is survived by his wife, Camille, his brother Tom, 5 children: John, Steve, Laura, Travis, and Lisa; 11 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren who were by his side at home when he died on May 9, 2023.
His Funeral Service will be on Monday, May 15, 2023, at 6 pm at Royal View Baptist Church, 201 Elliot Rd., Gilbert, AZ, 85234.
Condolences may be expressed at www.buelermortuary.com.