Roderic A. Davis II

Roderic A. Davis II, affectionately known as 'Rod,' or 'Rick' by his family, 82, of The Manor at Woodside in Poughkeepsie and previously of Hyde Park, passed away on June 9, 2025, at Vassar Brother's Medical Center in Poughkeepsie.
Born on October 20, 1942, in New York City, he was the son of the late Roderic A. and Harriet E. (Stansfield) Davis.
Roderic was a bright student. A highlight of his high school career was building a Tic Tac Toe computer for the school science fair for which he won 3rd place in the 1960 STANYS Science Congress, taking his winning entry to the NY State Fair where he met with Governor Rockefeller. Roderic was also musically gifted. Despite never having had piano lessons and being unable to read music, he taught himself to play Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" by ear.
A graduate of Wappingers Central School District, he attended Marist College and majored in Physics.
Roderic worked for IBM in Poughkeepsie and Kingston as an Advisory Programmer, and he was particularly proficient in the REXX programming language. During his time at IBM, he spent 2 years on assignment in Sweden. He retired after 30 years in 1993.
Roderic enjoyed fine food and belonged to a gourmet cooking club with his friends. Later in life he became interested in family genealogy and created a genealogy website. He was also interested in history, although he enjoyed books on almost any subject. Roderic liked to travel and a solo road trip to Newfoundland was one of his most memorable vacations. He also traveled extensively with his family through Europe during their time in Sweden. He was a former chaplain of Lafayette Post 37 of the American Legion in Poughkeepsie.
Survivors include his children, Dana Davis and Roderic A. 'Ric' Davis III; his granddaughter Xe Davis; and his siblings C. Kenneth Davis and wife Candee, and Dyanthia 'Dyan' Wapnick.
In keeping with his wishes, cremation has taken place.
Calling hours will be Friday, August 1st from 4 to 6 PM at Sweet's Funeral Home, Rte. 9, Hyde Park.
Funeral services will take place at 11 AM, Saturday, August 2nd at St. James' Episcopal Church, 4526 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park. Reverend Meredith Kadet Sanderson will officiate.
Burial of his ashes will follow in St. James' Churchyard.
To send an online condolence, or for directions, please visit www.sweetsfuneralhome.com