Robert L. Davis, whose family chronicled the news in Houston and the area for about 50 years, passed away Thursday in St. Louis.
Mr. Davis, 87, published the Houston Herald with his father, Lane, after graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism in 1960. The Davis family arrived in Houston from Springfield in 1946, when his parents, Lane and Frances, bought the county-seat weekly. In 1960, the Herald joined newspapers in Licking, Willow Springs and Mountain Grove to establish a printing operation that took advantage of a big advancement — from the letterpress to offset printing. The equipment was in Houston, and one of the first regional printing sites in the Midwest.
The Davis family sold its newspaper holdings in 1996.
The family also branched out to cable television service in Houston, Licking, unincorporated Phelps County and Evening Shade. The arrival of cable in Houston was notable. Previously, homeowners were required to use an antenna to capture airwaves from television stations in Springfield. The cable system was able to snag signals from new cable network startups, including the global news-gathering operation, CNN.
Davis and his wife, Nancy, were active in the community. She chaired the Houston Parks Board for many years. Bob Davis and other merchants worked feverishly on projects to better the retail community in Houston. He is a former member of the Houston board of education, which oversaw the development of Tiger Stadium and related facilities in the 1970s. An avid Mizzou Tiger fan, he could often be found on a fishing trip on the Big Piney River.
In later years, Mr. Davis lived in the Springfield area.
Funeral arrangements are incomplete.
Additional survivors are two children, Jeff and Jennifer of the St. Louis area, and two grandchildren in Texas.