Robert Gregory Fajans, known by family and friends as “Bob”, was born April 26, 1938. He passed December 6, 2025, at age 87 with his beloved wife, Lynda, at his side - as she had been for 64 amazing years – as well as his three daughters. He is remembered with great love and admiration by his daughters, Elizabeth and her husband Chris, Patty and her husband Jack, and Suzanne and her husband Tim. The patriarch of the family, he had nine grandchildren – Janelle, Nathan, Emily, Ben, Kayla, Ryan, Michael, Sydney and Sam -- and three great grandchildren – Mason, Nora, and Alaina.
While he considered his family his greatest accomplishment (along with the success of his decades-long master plan to get his children to move to Ponte Vedra), his life was a testament to his incredible work ethic, tenacity, and chutzpah. He was born in Amityville, New York to his mother, Isabelle, and father, Wilbur, and grew up alongside his dear sister, Stefanie. The first in his family to go to college, Bob received a ROTC scholarship to Renssellaer Polytechnic Institute and graduated with a Chemical Engineering degree, which befitted his analytical mind and launched his lifelong fondness for spreadsheets and yellow legal pads. Upon graduation, he became a commissioned officer in the Navy, assigned not to the east or west coasts as expected but instead landlocked in New Mexico for nuclear weapons school. He was later deployed to San Diego where he helped to maintain, transport, and safely store nuclear weapons for the US’ new nuclear submarines. Later, during the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Lieutenant JG Fajans was anchored off the coast of Cuba aboard Destroyer DD844 picking up encoded communications from Castro. While deployed in Mayport, FL, he met and courted his southern belle Lynda, who was so enamored, she overlooked her family’s distaste for Yankees and married him on November 10, 1961. Their first dance at their wedding was just the first of many slow dances in their life together, with him holding her close and her following his lead.
As a civilian, he began his professional life at Hercules in Wilmington, DE where he had a long, successful career in corporate life rising to the top of the executive team. During his time with Hercules, he traveled the globe, visiting China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Eastern and Western Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Along the way, he made lifelong friends with the Freemans and the rest of the Hills of Skyland’s Gang of 10. From block parties to sailing trips, to friends like Bill and Cheryl who became family, his steadfast friendships enriched his life and were evidence of his loving heart and generous spirit. In 1987, he fulfilled Lynda’s lifelong dream to get out of the cold and snow and return to the land of sun and beaches. In Ponte Vedra, he launched Capital Investment Advisory, a financial services company that became the vehicle by which he brought all his girls back together to live within 5 miles of his home. Capital Investment Advisory grew from an insurance and personal advisory service, where Bob helped countless people with their financial needs, into a national retirement recordkeeping company that served over 100k participants. Bob always shot for the moon and often landed the elephant – persuading and charming companies much bigger than a regional recordkeeping would typically get and then always living up to the promises he made. Most notably, he anticipated the potential of the PEO market, launching a line of business that became the foundation of the company’s future success. While there were ups and downs and so much hard work, building a business that he could then hand over to his daughters and watching them and their husbands continue to build the business, was a source of great pride and joy.
Bob retired in 2013 and was able to enjoy many wonderful years with his wife Lynda in their beautiful home in Sawgrass and on the fairways of Sawgrass Country Club. An avid golfer, he loved his men’s group and was intimately familiar with every hole and hazard – in fact, on at least one occasion, becoming more familiar with a water hazard than he ever intended to be. Never ones to let the grass grow under their feet, Bob and Lynda took amazing trips and built lifelong memories – always one last hurrah and more people to meet and charm. From Iceland to Alaska, Poland, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, and finally their westward ho in September 2024 to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons – Bob was always looking for the next adventure, always up for experiencing new things, and always in awe of the natural beauty God created.
He will be deeply, deeply missed and his family’s and friends’ memories of him will always be a blessing. A memorial service celebrating his life will be held on December 29, 2025 at 11:00 am at the Ponte Vedra Valley Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Tunnels to Tower Foundation, an organization supporting America’s First Responders, Veterans and their families.
