Robert A. McQuillan ’52 died on July 14, 2024, in Augusta, Maine.
(The following was provided by Central Maine in July 25, 2024:)
Sidney, ME – Robert Arthur McQuillan of Sidney passed away on Sunday, July 14, 2024, at Maine General Medical Center in Augusta, due to injuries resulting from a fall, with several family members at his side until the end.
Bob was born in Waterville, September 19, 1928, to the late Doctor Arthur H. and Verna A. McQuillan. He graduated from Waterville High school in 1947, attended Bowdoin College and served in the United States Air Force, stationed in Texas. He married Geraldine C. Pinnette during the famous blizzard of 1952, and had an extremely strong marriage until her death in July of 2009. There would never be another for him, he said “once you’ve had the best, why would you settle for less?”
Settling in Waterville after his stint in the service, Bob worked for C.F. Hathaway in Waterville as a production supervisor, followed by roles as Health Club Director for YMCAs in Waterville and Augusta, ultimately finishing his working career at Rummel’s Ice Cream, where he had worked as a teenager, making and delivering ice cream, a job he really enjoyed. He loved his ice cream!
Bob and Jerri moved their family from Waterville to a rundown farm in Sidney in 1969 which became known as “The Farm”, and he was soon busy refitting the house with modern wiring, plumbing and insulation, jacking up the house and barn, and took on raising animals for meat, growing beautiful vegetable gardens, keeping horses and haying local fields, harvesting all the firewood to heat their home, and so much more. Life for him was all about the “doing” and not concerning himself with many of the trappings of modern society. He had many hobbies including hunting, fishing, camping, boating, snowmobiling and other outdoor oriented pursuits. He and his sons had many adventures cutting wood, trout fishing up North, going down the rivers and fishing on the coast, and he and Rory went to the top of Mt. Washington together for his 89th birthday. His grandchildren also provided and shared many adventures with him, including an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., moose hunting and white water rafting in his 80s, and they delighted in stopping by The Farm with unexpected treats like hamburgers and lobster rolls or taking him out for an ice cream cone, nearly always strawberry.
He had a lifelong love of country music and got to see many icons of the genre in concert, meeting some along the way. Although he considered himself a Jack of all trades and master of none, he was particularly skilled at making bread, filleting white perch, and felling trees with precision, and enjoyed working his woodpile well into his eighties. He took delight in the fact that he was born the year Walt Disney produced Mickey Mouse and loved Mickey themed items such as his Mickey Mouse watch, sweatshirt, etc. and even named his last cat Mickey.
Bob also found time for civic engagement, he was a YMCA Indian Guide Chief, served on the Sidney Planning Board, and was the first president of the Sidney Snowmobile Club, leading trail clearing efforts, etc. As an example of his generous nature, he donated over 19 gallons of his own blood to the American Red Cross during his lifetime, a practice he continued into his 90s until he was advised it was probably best to keep it for himself at this point.
A voracious reader, Bob read thousands of books in his lifetime and was a regular patron of the Oakland Public Library. His daughter Maureen delighted in driving him there as well as to the numerous medical appointments necessary to help him reach such a ripe old age. His daughter Heidi became a Certified Nurse’s Aide and was instrumental in enabling him to remain in his Sidney home until the end, while Billy kept the legal and financial issues in order and Rory pitched in as needed. In his later years Bob was a very colorful character, easily making friends everywhere he went, telling his stories and serving as a local historian, taking great delight in correcting “facts” occasionally encountered in various publications. Love for him was expressed by many folks inside and outside the family referring to him as “Dad.”
In addition to Jerri, Bob was predeceased by his brother John and twin sisters Kathleen Lord and Elaine Marston.
He is survived by his son Robert McQuillan Jr. (Billy) and wife Jane of Embden and Winslow, their children Robbie and Kristen McQuillan, his daughter Maureen Morison and husband Robert of Sidney and sons Tyler McQuillan and Kyle Morison, his son Rory McQuillan and wife Judy of Sidney, their children Natasha, Robert E. and Rhea McQuillan, and his daughter Heidi McQuillan of Sidney and her sons Dakota and twins Ditrick and Darrien Allard. Bob was closer than a typical grandparent to some of his grandsons, serving as the father figure they needed during their formative years. He also has eight great grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren. Ronald Levesque and “Cousin Nephew” John Terczyak were also relatives to which he was particularly close.
It is difficult to summarize the life of such an extraordinary person, but the best description is simply that he was a “great guy.”
The family would like to thank Sidney Rescue for their prompt and compassionate responses to Bob’s recent falls.