Martin Robert DeBovis, PhD's Obituary
Martin Debovis was born on July 8, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York. He transplanted to Miami, Florida with his brother Mickey, sister Sara and their mother. There he attended University of Miami for mathematics undergraduate and master degrees. Then he moved onto Emory University in Georgia to study math and statistics, eventually earning a PhD. He later moved to Mountain Lakes, New Jersey. Then later Wilmington Delaware. His last years were spent in Annapolis, Maryland.
One of the things Martin hated – was aging. He would always talk about how he didn’t like pictures now because he didn’t like to see how he was aging. He hated the ailments and the discomforts and limitations that came with them. He was sad when he stopped working.
But the funny thing about how Martin hated aging is that he absolutely loved all the other things that you get to have and do as you get old. For one thing, the older you get, the more things you learn, the more people you meet, the more time you have with people you love.
First and foremost, he loved Cathy. His wife of 50 years. He adored her. He hated growing old but certainly loved that he got to grow old with Cathy. Together they had Becky, Sara, Robert, and John. The family grew as all the children married and had kids of their own. Along came the grandchildren – Ciara, Macey, Braden, Charlie, Michael, Emma, Maggie, Jonah, Jack, and Dot. At family gatherings – like weekend pool parties in Delaware, Easter brunch, Thanksgivings dinner, and extended family reunions - he would often say, “Look at all these people!” He would say things like, “I can’t believe all these people are here because we had a family.” He hated aging but he enjoyed how they grew to be Grammy and Grandpa.
He enjoyed gardening with Cathy. In Delaware they had a community plot and home garden. Martin was so proud of all the produce and flowers. He constantly tried to grow tropical plants in a temperate climate and reminisced about Miami. He is survived by his beloved banana plant. He loved seeing if random clippings would grow. He took pride in his little patio in Annapolis where he put as many plants as possible, always appreciating a hibiscus blooming in the sun. Things Martin loved: plants and fruit.
When John and Ava got married at an all-inclusive resort in Mexico – while the resort was lovely – the most important part of the hotel for Martin was the constant stream of fresh chopped fruit at any meal, any time.
Martin also loved the evolution of technology. Cameras and film. Printed photographs. Computers. Camcorders (pre image stabilization tech). The Internet. Smart Phones. Digital photographs. News papers. News on the phone. News on the laptop. News channels. DVDs. DVD burners. 3D television. Cinema. Movies. Before movies were available to stream like they are now, he had a giant binder of burned DVD’s – so much pirating!
He enjoyed meeting people. He enjoyed hearing their stories, asking them questions, and sharing about his life. He enjoyed learning about other people and sharing stories about whomever he met and what he learned about them.
He hated aging but he loved trying to capture time. Always he was taking pictures of his family. Always revisiting pictures of his family. Always reminiscing, then constantly taking pictures of the present. He hated aging but was so proud to have enjoyed and shared all the moments he captured. He has so many pictures or video of family reunions, pets, of the kids, and Cathy. He loved sharing his pictures of their life together. Talking about Cathy, the kids, Florida. He loved talking about his brother Mickey and had pictures of John and Rob visiting him. He loved the pets – even if the pets were long gone, you’d feel like you knew them because he would show you pictures and tell you all about them. Like a picture of Gretchen running with Robert smiling behind her. Or Mona the German Shepard watching him mow the lawn in New Jersey. Or Mona sitting with Cathy.
When it comes to photographs and videos – it’s like Martin knew life would keep happening – and he tried to trap all the little moments constantly. Which is why maybe it was a great thing he got old and became a grandpa. Because most of the time being grandpa – he let his kids take the pictures for a change while he enjoyed the moments. One photo has a bunch of the grandkids with grandpa – all dressed up in costumes of superhero capes and astronaut helmets – even grandpa had an astronaut helmet on and even the dog Molly had a cape.
In his latest years, Martin and Cathy moved to Annapolis, Maryland. Here they could be by the water, enjoy boat rides on the Chesapeake, and time with John and Ava’s family.
If you met Martin today, he’d probably still tell you that aging is the worst. And then he would probably talk to you about life. Ask you about your life. Tell you about his life. All the ups and downs. Current events. The state of the market. Then he would be keen to share with the next person he sees that he had met you.
It is a terrible thing, the way that aging takes a toll on us. But as the good and the bad can only be known hand in hand – the wonderful things in life can only be known with time. Roughly 900 words cannot capture 82 years of life. Not even close. But if a picture is worth a thousand words – then Martin left us perhaps – with all the words we need.
A celebration of life will be held for Martin DeBovis on December 6th, 2025 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm at the Severn Inn in Annapolis, MD.
What’s your fondest memory of Martin?
What’s a lesson you learned from Martin?
Share a story where Martin's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Martin you’ll never forget.
How did Martin make you smile?