DAMARISCOTTA – Robert W. Belknap Jr., 81, died on Sept. 9, 2004. He was born on April 4, 1923, in Damari-scotta, the son of Robert W. Belknap, MD and Martha Chapman Belknap. Bob passed away after returning home at his request, after patiently enduring a long illness. Bob graduated from Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, in 1940, and later served as one of their trustees. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving in the western Pacific as a junior bridge and damage-control officer on the destroyer USS McDermut (DD677). He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1945 after returning from the war. Bowdoin was a family tradition begun by his father and followed by his brothers and son. Bob was a stockbroker and investments counselor who served a single firm for his entire 50-year career, retiring in 1998 as a vice-president of Advest, Inc. (and proudly continuing to drive with his INVEST license plate). Bob was a strong and loving father and grandfather, whose immediate and extended family was the center of his life. He was devoted to his wife of 52 years, Eleanor Forrest Belknap, who passed away March 21, 2003. Bob married Eleanor on July 21, 1950, and made their first home in a log cabin they built in Damariscotta, where they resided for the first five years of their marriage. He was a hardworking breadwinner in the 1950’s and 60’s in Augusta, while frequently returning to Damariscotta for business and to care for his father and his mother in their last years. When he and his family returned to Damariscotta in 1970, Bob established a branch office on Main Street in town, also frequently commuting to the Advest office in Portland. He was highly regarded in the Augusta, Portland, and Damariscotta-midcoast region as a trusted investments advisor. He served as a trustee to many institutions and for a number of personal estates. Bob and his siblings established the Robert W. Belknap, MD, Free Bed Fund in memory of their father, former Chief of Staff at Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta, and Bob was a faithful steward of the fund for more than four decades. Bob enjoyed family and social gatherings, travel, golf and bridge. He and Eleanor also established a winter home in Florida in later years, enjoying several months per year in LeeHigh Acres, until their health precluded making the trips. Bob is survived by his son, Daniel Belknap and his wife, Karen Verney Belknap; his daughter, Gay Belknap Howe and her husband, Andrew Howe; his grandchildren, Carrie and Christina Belknap and Whitney and Spencer Howe. He is also survived by his sisters, Ruth Bickford and Martha “Tiny” Reed; his brother, David J. Belknap and his wife, Louise; his sister-in-law, Lucy Belknap; and his numerous nieces and nephews. He was also blessed with an extended family including Eleanor’s brothers and sisters, primarily from New Hampshire, and Arthur and Shirley Rowe, of Damariscotta. Bob was predeceased recently by his older brother, Samuel L. Belknap, MD; and younger brother, James M. Belknap. Bob received excellent care at Miles Memorial Hospital and Coves Edge Nursing Home in Damariscotta, and from the wonderful caregivers of Bayview Scheduling and Miles Home Health and Hospice. Friends may call from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17, 2004, at the Strong Funeral Home, 612 Main St., Damariscotta. Funeral services will be at noon Saturday, Sept. 18, 2004, at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Glidden Street, Newcastle. The Reverend Dr. Stephen J. White, Rector, will preside. Bob’s ashes will be interred at the St. Andrews Memorial Garden in a private ceremony at a later date. In lieu of flowers, Bob requested that those who wish can donate to the Robert W. Belknap, MD, Free Bed Fund to benefit patients at Miles Memorial Hospital, care of Martha “Tiny” Reed, P.O. Box 67, Damariscotta, ME 04543.
ROBERT W. BELKNAP JR.
