Robert W. Stuart

Robert (Bob) Walter Stuart, 87, of Hingham MA died unexpectedly August 29 with his beloved wife, Dorothy, by his side. His was a life of boundless energy and many passions: sailing, music, theatre, politics, community service, travel, singing, cooking, good wine, and family.

Born in 1932 in Brighton MA, one of four boys. Despite getting into plenty of trouble as a teenager, he excelled in school and attended Boston Latin, studied engineering at Northeastern College in Boston and at Harvard University, a recipient of the GI bill after a stint in the Army. He earned a PhD while in his 50s. While at Northeastern, he took sailing lessons at Community Boating Inc, which sparked a lifelong love of sailing.  He met the love of his life, his wife Dorothy Ann Dolan, at an audition for a musical at the Catherine Laboure Nursing School where she was a student. His devotion to her was the bedrock of their 64-year marriage.

During a successful career in various technology companies they lived in New Jersey, California, New York, and Boston. They had seven children during this period: Christopher (deceased), Michael, Mary, David, Jayne, Daniel, and Anne. His last job was his favorite, teaching entrepreneurship at his alma mater Northeastern University. Living for almost a year on his boat in Boston Harbor, he lived out a sailor’s dream of foggy mornings, sailor gatherings and glorious sunsets. Alas Dorothy insisted on a home and they bought a home in Hingham MA. Since the mid-1970s the family spent summers in Boothbay Harbor ME, where they could be near the sea.

In his retirement he and his wife traveled the world, with stops in Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Canada, and Northern Africa. They attended countless musical performances, theater performances, art museums and hosted festive dinner parties and fundraisers. His commitment to community service was evident throughout his life: active throughout the 1960s and 1970s in the civil rights movement, regularly visiting prisoners in Walpole Prison in the 1970s, always with a few spare bills to hand to a homeless person, advocating for those less fortunate through letters to public officials, visits to their offices and manifesting an abiding commitment to LGBTQ rights. He served as Treasurer on the board of Wellspring Social Services, a non-profit in Hull MA, never missing the annual Drown Hogs Day Fundraiser that included jumping into the frigid ocean in February to raise money for the organization. He served for many years on the Hingham Advisory Board and was an active member of the JPVIS organization in Boothbay Harbor for decades.

He was always ready to squeeze in one more sail, make room at the table for one more guest, offer a helping hand, and say yes to an outlandish idea like sailing to Labrador and Newfoundland to see the icebergs and have an adventure. Always a joker, he had the last laugh: a package of boat parts arrived after he died, with postage due. It was a life well-lived.

He leaves behind his brother Ken Stuart of Seattle, 12 adored grandchildren and 15 nieces and nephews.

A private, family service will be held in Hingham in the coming weeks. Condolences to Dorothy Stuart 321 North Street, Hingham MA 02043. A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held in the spring or summer 2021, details forthcoming. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name can be made to Wellspring Social Services, 814 Nantasket Avenue, Hull MA 02045 or https://wellspringmultiservice.org/donate/