Robert Fay

July 25, 1945 – February 2, 2019

From the 95th BG Memorials Foundation Facebook page:

It is with great sadness that we share with the 95th BG family that Robert L. Fay left formation peacefully on February 2, 2019, at his home in Gahanna, Ohio.  Bob was with loved ones at the time of his passing.  He was 93.

Bob was a proud member of the US Army Air Corps from October 29, 1943 - September 27, 1945.  He was stationed in Horham, England.  He flew thirty-five combat missions - a total of two hundred sixty-one hours in combat - as the ball turret gunner on Hiram Griffin's "Victory Devils" crew, 334th Squadron from September 13, 1944 - March 2, 1945.  His contribution to the war effort was one of the proudest of his life, and he made several trips back to Horham with family and friends to visit "the old air field".

Born on July 25, 1925, in Detroit, Michigan, Bob was the oldest of four children born to Charlotte and Rutherford Fay.  After his return from the war he met Gloria Richardson, and they married in Ferndale, Michigan on July 26, 1947.  They raised their two children, son Barry, and daughter, Sherri, in Ferndale Michigan.  Bob and Gloria built a tool and die shop together in 1953 from which they both retired in 1984.  In 1996, Bob and Gloria moved to Gladwin, Michigan, where they built their lakefront dream home - quite the project for two seventy year olds.  Ever the building/machinist, Bob did much of the work himself.

He was a skilled woodworker and made heirloom quality wedding gifts for their four grandchildren.  He was the go-to guy whenever anyone needed something fixed.  There wasn't much he couldn't do.  He always had a project to work on or something to tinker with.  Bob and Gloria did quite a bit of traveling after their retirement, and they made frequent trips to see their kids and grandkids in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and in Colorado.  The energy of the young ones was always a source of amazement and joy for Grandpa Bob.

Bob is survived by his wife, Gloria, of Gahanna, Ohio, his son Barry and wife Karyn and their two children and seven grandchildren in Houghton, Michigan, his daughter Sherri Given and her husband Jim and their two children and three grandchildren in Gahanna, Ohio, and by his sister Marianne and husband, Wendell Douglas.  Grandpa Bob will be sorely missed by all.