OQUOSSOC – Robert Colin Summers Sr. of Oquossoc and Sudbury, Mass., died peacefully July 22, 2009. Bob was born Dec. 16, 1929, in Orange, N.J., the son of the late Leon Colin and Dorothy Wilson Summers. He spent his childhood in Massachusetts, where he found his lifelong loves of sailing and the Red Sox, and in New Jersey, where as an outnumbered fan of the Red Sox his less than favorable feeling towards the Yankees firmly took hold. He graduated from Columbia High School, Maplewood, N.J., and from Muhlenberg College. From 1951 to 1952 he was the commodore of Chatham (Mass.) Yacht Club, and after graduating from college in 1952 he joined IBM, New York City. He then served in the Armed Forces and was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, 1952-1954. On his return to IBM he met and married his wife of 53 years, Nancy Stevenson of Newton, Mass. In his 35-year career with IBM, Bob worked in sales, primarily as the branch manager in Boston and the country manager in Hong Kong. After retiring from IBM in 1987, he developed State Street Institute at State Street Bank and Trust, Boston, making it into the world class training program that it is today. He first visited the Rangeley Lakes region of Maine in 1970, and within a year he and his family decided to build a home there. While his career took him elsewhere at times, he considered Rangeley to be his home long before he eventually retired there. Bob’s unselfishness and personal integrity was unwavering and not limited to his family and friends. It was felt in all the communities in which he lived. He was a Hugh O’Brian Fellow of Rotary International and was active in the Boston, Hong Kong, Rangeley and Tacoma, Wash., clubs. While in Boston he was involved in the Black Achievers, The Boys and Girls Club, Back Bay Improvement Association and South Boston Redevelopment Group. In Rangeley he served on the board of Rangeley Public Library, Mooselookmeguntic Improvement Association, Rangeley Region Economic Growth Organization, and was a founding member of Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust. He is survived by his loving wife, Nancy; his children, Timothy Summers and wife, Linn Gould, of Seattle, Robert Summers Jr. of Sunrise, Fla., and Laura Reynolds and husband, Paul, of Tacoma, Wash.; sisters, Elizabeth Cary, Dolly and Ted Howell, and Helen and Fred Gregg; brother-in-law, Richard and Penny Stevenson; sister-in-law, Jane and Harold Fergus; and grandchildren, Parker and Colin Reynolds, Madison and Skye Summers. He was predeceased by his siblings, Dudley Summers and Sylvia Todd. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, P.O. Box 249, Oquossoc, ME 04964 or online at www.rlht.org. Arrangements under the care and direction of Dan & Scott’s Cremation & Funeral Service, 445 Waterville Road, Skowhegan.
ROBERT C. SUMMERS SR.
