Robert K. "Bob" Denison, a retired orthotist who enjoyed playing bridge and hunting, died Friday from cancer at the Edenwald Retirement Community in Towson. He was 88.
The son of Cedric D. Denison, an orthotist, and Ruth Kraft Denison, an administrator, Robert Kraft Denison was born in New Haven, Conn., and moved with his family in 1932 to a home on Windermere Avenue in the Lakeside section of Northeast Baltimore.
He was a graduate of Carson Long Military Academy in Bloomfield, Pa.
In 1933, his father and mother established C.D. Orthopedic Appliance Corp., of which his mother was secretary-treasurer. By age 12, Mr. Denison was working alongside his parents in the business.
In 1949, he became a certified orthotist and was a charter member of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists. In the late 1940s, he moved to Norfolk, Va., to open a satellite office of C.D. Orthopedic Appliance Corp., serving the general public and the Navy.
Mr. Denison later returned to Baltimore and rejoined his father. After his father's death in 1980, he took over the business and continued to operate it until 2000, when he sold it.
During his career he attended children's clinics, including the Johns Hopkins Scoliosis, John F. Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore County Cerebral Palsy, D.C. Society for Crippled Children, Allegany County League for Crippled Children and Falls Church Development Center.
He also worked with Dr. Richard Bransford, aiding disabled children in Africa, and with Dr. Stephen Kopitz, founder of the Little People Foundation.
Known for his compassion, Mr. Denison served the disabled, disadvantaged and incapacitated.
"He relieved their pain, prevented their deformity and lifted many to walk again," wrote Ed Herman, a son-in-law, in a biographical sketch. "He treated each with respect and humility."
Mr. Denison was a 32nd Degree Mason and an active communicant of Trinity Episcopal Church in Towson.
The former resident of Stone Manor Court in Towson had lived at Edenwald since 2008. In addition to playing bridge, he enjoyed hunting deer, turkey and waterfowl, and freshwater fishing.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at his church, 120 Allegheny Ave.
In addition to his wife of 67 years, the former Betty Hepler, he is survived by three daughters, Judith Herman of Quantico, Kathryn A. Denison of Towson and Paula D. Katinsky of Mount Washington; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
—Frederick N. Rasmussen