Robert M. Falvey

Robert M. Falvey, 86, of Hingham, former U.S. Customs official and active and involved community member, died June 3, 2014 surrounded by his children.

Mr. Falvey was a U.S. Navy sailor aboard the Greenwich Bay during WWII and then a freelance singer, emcee, and stand-up comedian before his marriage to the late Charlotte T. Falvey in 1956.  In addition to serving the United States as Assistant Regional Commissioner with the U.S. Customs Service, he served the Town of Hingham first as the President of the Foster School PTO and then as a member of the Hingham School Committee and then the Hingham Advisory Committee and Government Study Committee.  

Throughout his time in public life, he worked on many important projects that brought innumerable benefits to Hingham citizens, most notably the school override projects of the 1990s and fund-raising for the Hingham Community Playground and the new Hingham Public Library.  He was selected by the Hingham Journal as Hingham’s Citizen of the Year in 2003.

He was also an active member of the parish at St. Paul Church in Hingham where he lectored for decades, served on the Parish Council and worked and fund-raised extensively to beautify the St. Paul Cemetery.            

After retiring from his work with Customs in 1987, Mr. Falvey went on to sell commercial real estate with J.F. O’Neill and Associates while remaining involved in local politics and watching his grandchildren grow up in the town in which he raised his children.            

His life imparts three important values upon the friends and family who survive him: a dedication to public service, a devotion to family, and a passion for music and performance.            

Born in Boston, he was son of the late Mary Quinlan and John Falvey.  He was predeceased by his wife of 48 years, Charlotte Falvey, in 2004.  He is survived by two daughters, Carol Falvey and her husband Mark Van Dine and Christine Falvey and her husband Anthony Messina, all of Hingham; two sons, Robert M. Falvey Jr. and his wife Karen of Hingham and Mark Falvey and his wife Maureen of Scituate, and ten grandchildren, Alexandra, Victoria, Jacob, John (Jack), Olivia, Mark Jr., Kate, Charlotte, Robert III, and Elizabeth.  He was the brother of the late Elizabeth (Falvey) Minton and John Falvey, and grandfather of the late Maxwell Van Dine. 

A wake will be held at the Pyne Keohane Funeral Home, Hingham, on Friday, June 6th from 4pm-8pm.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Paul Church in Hingham on Saturday, June 7th at 11am, with interment in St. Paul’s Cemetery following the ceremony. 

Memorial contributions may be made to the Charlotte and Bob Falvey Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to Hingham High School students each year, c/o Hingham Institution for Savings, 55 Main St., Hingham, or to St. Paul’s Church, 147 North St., Hingham, Massachusetts.