Search all obituaries on iBerkshires.com:
 Walter J. Robbie
October 15, 2006
Walter J. Robbie, 86, of Merrimac died at the Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport on Sunday.
Born in Quincy on Nov. 20, 1919, son of James and Florence Blackwood Robbie, he attended Quincy public schools and graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1941.
A Navy Veteran of World War II, he served as a torpedo officer on the USS Spence during the campaign in the Pacific, and was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for action during the Battle of Cape Saint George in the Solomon Islands. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
Following the service, he lived in Pittsfield from 1959 to 1969; in Barrington, R.I., from 1969 to 1977; and in Merrimac from 1978 until retiring in 1985.
From 1978 to 1985, he served as vice president and, later, president of Towle Silver Co. in Newburyport. Prior to that, he was president of Gorham Silver Co. from 1969 to 1977 and president of Eaton Paper Co. from 1959 to 1969.
A lifelong skier and sailor, he was among the pioneering downhill skiers in the 1930s who rode the Boston ski train each winter to Mount Tecumseh, N.H.
He also built vacation camps in New Hampshire and North Carolina, where he enjoyed swimming, sailing and water skiing. In his later years he enjoyed reading, gardening and woodworking.
He leaves his wife of 64 years, the former Mabelle F. Goodrich, whom he married in May 1942.
Besides his wife, he leaves two daughters, Susan R. Heckerling of Miami and Jeanne Robbie-Shea of Worcester; two sons, Peter J. Robbie of Norwich, Vt., and Douglas B. Robbie of Shelburne, Vt.; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandsons.
FUNERAL NOTICE -- A memorial service for Walter J. Robbie, 86, who died Oct. 15, 2006, surrounded by his wife and children, will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Merrimacport United Methodist Church, corner of High Street and River Road, Merrimac.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the charity of your choice in his name. Beloved husband of Mabelle F. Goodrich Robbie, the love of his life. Arrangements are by Paul C. Rogers & Sons Family Funeral Home, 36 West Main St., Merrimac. He and his family sailed for many years in Narragansett Bay, the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas.
| No Comments have been left |
|
