Robert Lee Davidson

Robert Lee "Bob" Davidson our beloved father and grandfather, passed away on January 29th at age 91. Bob was born in Mohall, North Dakota on August 29, 1933, the first of four boys to Evelyn and Gestur Valentine Davidson. Gestur Valentine died at age 39 when Bob was 9, Bill 7, Bruce 2 and Gestur Brent was still in the womb. While our Dad largely grew up without a father, Grandma Evelyn was an incredibly strong and resilient German disciplinarian who rode herd over her rambunctious boys. The boys moved around in the care of loving uncles and aunts in Minneapolis, North Dakota and Buffalo, NY. Despite being poor, this support system led to four boys who achieved graduate degrees in law, food science, dentistry, and health economics.

Bob graduated from North High in 1951 and then entered the U of M on a four-year joint undergrad/law program. The most important thing he did there was meet our Mom, Marilyn, in the U of M marching band. They married in 1955 and had Peter in 1962 and Jane in 1965. After graduating from law school. Bob entered a clerkship/apprenticeship with Bob Henrietta, who was a great mentor and introduced Bob to real estate law. He next formed his own firm with two close friends, Karl Hermann and Joel Maurer, where he practiced for three years. He then moved to Grey, Plant and Moody for a short time, before he became General Counsel of Pemtom, Inc. There he met his future best friends, Bruce Thomson, Lee Lynch, Larry Laukka and Gerry Grande. He was at Pemtom until 1972, when he joined Broeker and Bachman, and then on to lead the real estate practice at Doherty, Rumble and Butler for eight years until finishing his legal practice at Holmes and Graven. He developed lasting friendships at each of these firms.

In 1968, these Pemtom families bought a small resort on Lake Namakagon near Cable, Wisconsin, that was named Reykjavik Point. The five families at Reykjavik became one big family and lifelong friends for the parents and us kids. Bob's happy place at Reykjavik was sitting on the west-facing guest dock with a large Tanqueray and Schweppes tonic (only those would do) watching the sun set before sauntering across "Heart Attack" Field to our small cabin for dinner.

Sometime in the mid-70's Bob decided to become a real estate tycoon (as he would describe it). He partnered in developments in the Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos, Sanibel Island, and Arizona. He famously became, along with his friend Jim Ascher, the fourth largest turkey grower in the US in Paynesville and Fergus Falls.

But his true love were the communities he developed on the southern shore of Lake Superior near Bayfield, WI. He developed Apostle Highlands golf course and homesites, built Roy's Point Marina and developed the Brickyard Creek, Fire Hill, and Sawgrass at Cornucopia communities. He was the proudest of Brickyard Creek because of the incredibly strong and thriving community there and the preservation of a flourishing boreal forest. He converted the sales cabin into a cozy cabin for himself and treasured every moment he was at Brickyard Creek. He particularly valued his decades-long friendships with Dave Culberson and their work in designing and building the Lake Superior communities and with Susan Keachie who managed most of his business matters for the past 20 years. Since our Dad's death, we have been deluged with stories from owners in these communities about his vision and generosity, and about the many friendships he made possible at Brickyard and the other developments.

Bob and Marilyn also built two houses on Madeline Island and spent many happy years there involved with the Madeline Island Music Camp and other artistic endeavors. Bob only recently resigned from the Board of the Music Camp after helping them finalize their merger with the McPhail music academy.

Our Dad was an amazing man. He was a wonderful father, husband, brother, son, grandfather, friend, entrepreneur, and lawyer. He had a very special place in his heart for his grandkids and had a unique relationship with Madeleine, Sophie, Bjorn, Olivia and Isabel and with his daughter in law, Kari. He will be dearly missed by so many who will recall his generosity, commitment to family, and dedication to making the world a better place.

Many will want to celebrate the legacy of Bob Davidson, and we are planning a celebration at the Twin Cities Arboretum on June 19th and another at Bayfield, WI on June 21st to accommodate all his friends. Please check the Neptune Society page at https://neptunesociety.com/obituaries/golden-valley-mn/robert-davidson-12223000 for more information about the celebration and to share stories and pictures.

His voicemail always ended with "Adios," which in Spanish means "to God." Adios, Dad.

Peter and Jane Davidson