Robert "Bobby D" Daniel Doyle, Jr.

On Monday, February 14, 2022, Robert (Bobby) Daniel Doyle, Jr., of Mobile, Alabama, died just 10 days shy of his 59th birthday at Mulherin Home in Mobile. Bobby D. (as he was affectionately known) was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, on February 24, 1963, to the late Robert (Bob) Daniel Doyle and Maeredith (Reedy) Houser Doyle.

It’s fitting that Bobby departed this world on Valentine’s Day, seeing as he lived every day as if he were love personified. Bobby never met a stranger, but he made sure you did; any trip to the grocery store involved hugs and introductions with whoever happened to be walking down his aisle. Then he’d turn, introduce you, and wait for more hugs to ensue.

Anyone who approaches life that way is liable to make a lot of friends, and that was certainly the case with Bobby. Those friendships stretched far and wide. One of his family’s favorite Bobby stories occurred during a trip to New York City. While walking down Madison Avenue, a man passed by and said, “Hey, Bobby!” 

His family, stunned, asked, “Bobby, who was that?”

“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging it off.

Bobby was the baby of his family, and he was the apple of his three sisters’ eyes — even when he pushed his luck. His sister Janie remembers the time she was pulled over for speeding. As the officer approached the driver’s seat, before Janie could plead her case, Bobby chimed in from the passenger seat, “Janie was going fast!”

“Yes, son, she was,” the officer responded. Janie stuck out her hand for her speeding ticket.

Whether living in Decatur, Mobile, Gulf Shores, or Bluffton, Indiana, Bobby was doted over by friends and family, particularly his aunts, uncles, and adoring parents. Bob, Reedy, and Bobby (a trio that Bobby referred to as the “Three Mr. Doyles”) became an instantly recognizable and lovable fixture in each community they joined. As blessed as the Doyle family was to receive the gift of a son and brother such as Bobby, he was likewise blessed with two parents who were so proud of, and amused by, their baby boy. Bobby was such a shadow to his parents that if his dad stopped quickly, Bobby would run into him.

Bobby was also an incredibly hard worker. He was a proud assistant custodian at Sexton Can Company in Decatur (where his father worked as manager), and years later, he was honored as the longest-running volunteer at the recycling plant in Bluffton. Every Christmas in Mobile, he worked as a volunteer at the Optimist Club tree lot, no matter the weather or temperature. You could eat your dinner off a Bobby-swept sidewalk, and you could bounce a quarter off a Bobby-made bed. (Anyone sleeping in on a Saturday morning ran the risk of having the bed made with them still in it.) Bobby was always heavily involved with the church, and he took his duties as crucifer so seriously that he would refuse to make eye-contact with his family as he carried the cross down the aisle. Sometimes he couldn’t help himself, however, and his feet, seemingly with a mind of their own, would break into a little two-step jig.

He loved Elton John, Dr. Pepper filled to the brim of a glass without ice, the local weather update, bowling, swimming (he represented Alabama in the National Special Olympics), carrying around a big biography like his dad, bellowing hymns in church, the Fonz, the roller coasters at Hershey Park, eavesdropping on the telephone line, mashed potatoes, plain cheeseburgers, and vanilla ice cream (no matter how many free samples of other flavors he was enticed to try). He was known to wrap you in a bear hug that would pop your back and kiss your cheek with a wet smack.

With Bobby around, it was hard to take yourself, or life, too seriously. Though a great lover of food himself, he never hesitated to inform you that your waistline had reached a point that you needed to “get your tummy down.” His family still speaks in Bobby-isms: “You are something ELSE,” or “Oh, you gooooood,” or “Oh, you crazy!” Likewise, it’s been decades since the family has referred to the remote control as anything other than an “armatron.”

Just by being himself, Bobby had a formative influence on the lives of his nieces and nephews because he was an example of how we all should live. Love was the only thing that Bobby knew, and he used it to draw a smile out of every person he met. One time, upon leaving the bank with his dad, Bobby turned to shake the hand of the lady in line behind them. “Ooh nice ring!” he blurted out. As they left, Bobby’s dad remembers seeing the lady admiring her own ring.

In the final years of his life, Bobby was blessed to join another loving family: the staff and residents of Mobile's Mulherin Home. The new friends he made, and the 24-hour care he received from the Home’s staff, especially Carletta, Lajuana, Janice, and Natasha, will forever be remembered with the deepest gratitude and affection.

Bobby is survived by his aunt Catherine (Cassie) Houser Reider; his sisters and their spouses, Valerie and Brian Stogdill of Nolensville, Tennessee, Jane Doyle of Chicago, Illinois, Susie and Ray Pappas of Mobile, Alabama; his nieces and nephews and their spouses, Nathan Stogdill and Jane Borden, Lauren and Spence Curry, Alex and Nancy Pappas, Breck Pappas, and Jane Bartlett and Jack Nenstiel; his five great-nieces and nephews. Bobby was preceded in death by his father Bob and his mother Reedy. A graveside service will be held in Annville, Pennsylvania.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Mulherin Home, 2496 Halls Mill Road, Mobile, AL, 36606. 

The family would also love for you to share your favorite Bobby story or memory in the comments below.