Mr. Tobias 86, died Thursday, January 15, 2009 of complications from multiple myeloma. He was born July 23, 1922 in Fort Benning, Georgia, the son of Col. Robert B. and Mary Dunlap Tobias. As a child, he traveled with his parents and two sisters to live two years each in the Philippine Islands and the Panama Canal Zone. He attended schools in The Philippines, Chattanooga, TN, Washington, DC, Brooklyn, NY, Panama, CZ, and Atlanta, GA. He was selected to attend the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, where he graduated in June 1945. He was commissioned in the regular U. S. Army, branch Infantry. He served in Germany, in various stations in the continental U. S., and in Korea, where he was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge and the Bronze Star Medal. His final assignment was on the faculty of The Infantry School at Fort Benning.
Following his military service he moved to Charlotte in 1965. He was employed by Microtron Corporation until 1973. In 1967 he married Juanita Frederick Davis of Charlotte. He became partner with his wife in the firm of Hallmark Printers in 1973, and remained there until the summer of 1989. After his retirement from Hallmark Printers, he signed on in 1989 as a school bus driver with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. He found great pleasure in the associations with his fellow workers and with the children who rode with him. He continued with CMS until the winter of 2007.
He became a member of Myers Park Baptist Church in 1972, where he served as an active deacon for twelve years. He was a member of the Chancel Choir and the Truth and Beauty Sunday School Class.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Juanita on July 11, 2008. He is survived by his daughter, Virginia Tobias Dearman of Charlotte and his sister, Anne Tobias Hamilton of Meridian, MS.
A memorial service will be held at Myers Park Baptist Church on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 12:00 noon, followed by a reception at the church. The Reverend Dr. H. Stephen Shoemaker and The Reverend Gary Hudson will officiate. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts to Myers Park Baptist Church, 1931 Selwyn Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28207.
