Oros Leo Hancock III

Oros Leo Hancock III, ‘Buddy’, passed peacefully in his hometown of Monroe, NC, at the age of 68. He is the eldest son of 5 Hancock children, including siblings Deborah, Frank, Ruth, and Donna, born to Oros Leo Hancock Jr ‘Bud’, and Helen Gross Hancock. He is preceded in death by his wife Robin Jean, and survived by his wife Cindi Moore. Robin and Buddy have 8 children, Beri Nicole, Oros Leo IV ‘Lee’, Austin Gene, Hannah Joyce, Christopher Seth, Ethan Roger, Noah Dale, and Joshua Aaron. With the addition of Cindi’s children Matthew Lee and Michael Andrew, and 7 bonus children (spouses), their blended family boasts a total of 17 children and 11 grandchildren. 

Buddy is originally from China Grove, NC, and grew up the son of a teacher and a preacher. Those that knew him before his kids describe him as fun, kind, and endlessly mischievous. His mother loved to recount tales of him climbing out school windows to go fishing, and his siblings recall being mercilessly pranked. Always one to offer you the shirt off his back, he never met a stranger or a person he wouldn’t help. 

After attending NC State University for two semesters he felt compelled to enlist in the Navy and served 4 years during the Vietnam war as an Aviation Electrician’s Mate, and achieved the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class. His pride of service and country was clear to all who knew him. 

Robin and Buddy met in Indiana, shortly after his military career, and married in 1980. Eleven years later, sick of shoveling snow, Buddy fulfilled his lifelong dream of moving to North Carolina to take over the family farm he and his father helped build in Marshville. In 1991 Buddy bought his own farm just a few miles away and continued to manage both properties during his lifetime. Buddy and Robin raised their 8 children in an environment of farming, gardening, homeschooling, hunting, and self-sufficiency. 

His official title on a business card was Insurance broker, but he held so many more titles like farmer, home educator, debate leader, mechanic and hunter. Of all of his titles, he was most proud of being a Dad and Pops. POPS was a devoted grandfather who used every opportunity to try and give his grandkids a level of freedom their parents wouldn’t allow. They drove tractors, four wheelers, went fishing, rode cows, shotguns, and watched war movies with him. 

Almost daily he could be found with his Daysprings Farm shirt (custom cut with a front slit of course) and a veterans hat atop his favorite John Deere tractor. It’s important to note the ‘favorite’ because he was a bit of a collector of large equipment and would regularly make heads spin when he brought home a new toy. In fact, he brought home so many toys he had to keep building new wings onto his barn… a building which was already twice the size of the house he raised his 8 children in.  

Buddy loved the simple life on a farm, the sounds of farm animals, the rolling hills, and the peaceful moments that an evening on the porch with a whiskey on the rocks could bring.

On Jun 9 2020, with a final military salute, the sounds of his cows in his ears, and surrounded by those that loved him most, Buddy graduated this life and went to the next. He wore his prized veteran hat and his favorite Dayspring Farms shirt, and was covered in hands, tears, and love. He leaves behind a massive army of grieving people, proving that truly the best ones go first. 

His visitation will be Friday June 12, 2-5pm, at the Davis Funeral Home, 1003 E Franklin St, Monroe, NC. Funeral will be held in the multi-purpose building on Saturday June 13, 11am, Philadelphia Baptist Church. 5709 Philadelphia Church Rd, Marshville. Please bring face masks and hand sanitizer and protect each other by refraining from handshakes and hugs.

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