On June 27th, 2022 Robert McDonald Erving passed away, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Robert was born on November 28th, 1935 in Oak Park, Illinois to parents Jane and Robert Erving. In 1943 his family moved to a small farm in Mountain View, California where Robert spent most of his childhood.
Upon graduating from the Webb School in Claremont California, he attended Dartmouth College for three years before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps where he earned the highest score nationally in his recruit cohort for rifle marksmanship. He served as an aide to the admiral of the Pacific fleet carrier group on the USS Hornet and experienced several tours in the Far East, often writing thrilling accounts of typhoons that sent waves over the flight deck. After completing his tour of duty with the Marines, he finished his undergraduate degree at Stanford University, majoring in History.
Finding a career that best suited his talents proved elusive. His early experience was in the map room of the H.M. Gousha company, a roadmap company his father ran. His career also included a course of study at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in horse ranching, something he fantasized about doing since his boyhood on the family farm, but after a brief stint working at Three Rings Ranch in Beaumont, California, more practical considerations motivated him to change course and study law at Hastings Law School in San Francisco. However, it took just one year of case studies before he came to realize that lawyering spoke to his sensibilities no better than ranching. It wasn’t until he joined Wells Fargo Bank as a trainee in their investment portfolio management program that he discovered his true calling and embarked upon what would become a highly successful career running his own investment advisory firm and investing for himself in financial securities, real estate, and two restaurants in Silicon Valley.
Robert loved American military history, sailing, fishing, and landscape design. His love of books was second to none, and over the course of his lifetime he built a comprehensive library of military history. Robert will be remembered for his keen intellect, confident individualism, and fierce loyalty to those he loved.
Robert was predeceased by his son Robert Russell Erving and is survived by his daughter Audrey and son James. He is also survived by his loving partner Alexia, siblings John, George, and Janette, and grandchildren Amy and Rob Licari.
