Robert J. Gilbert of Waterford, CT, and more recently of Mystic, died on January 10 at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London. He was 89 years old. Robert is remembered as a loving father, husband and grandfather.
He was born on February 22, 1920 in Gary, Indiana, the son of Seymour Parker Gilbert and Etta Mae Gilbert. Robert grew up in Nutley, New Jersey and graduated from Nutley High School. He joined Chase Manhattan Bank as an employee in 1940 and, with the exception of his military service, worked at the Bank for the next 40 years. During World War II, he served in General Patton's Third Army and was honorably discharged as a corporal after the Allied victory in 1945. He then returned to Chase Manhattan Bank and devoted much of his career to tax analysis related to estates administered by the Bank.
Robert married Margaret Hurst Daly in 1952 and moved to South Plainfield, N.J., where the couple raised their children and lived for almost three decades. In South Plainfield, Robert actively volunteered in the community as a rescue squad worker for several years and then as a successful Little League baseball manager for over twenty years. He remained happily married to Margaret for over 52 years until her death in 2005.
In 1995, he and Margaret moved to Waterford in order to be close to their children and grandchildren. While in Waterford, he volunteered for Meals on Wheels and as a literacy tutor. He was a life time sports enthusiast who remained active swimming, or on ice skates and roller blades well into his eighties. He is survived by his son Robert D. Gilbert and daughter-in-law Kathleen Gilbert of Stamford, CT and his daughter Carol Gilbert Patterson and son-in-law Dr. Bruce H. Patterson of New London, and by five grandchildren whom he adored: Marielle and Elizabeth Gilbert; and Gilbert, Lucy and Danny Patterson.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 12 Noon on Wednesday, January 13th at St. Joseph’s Church, New London. Burial will follow in St. Mary Cemetery. Calling hours will be held 5:30 – 7:30 today, Tuesday , January 12th at the Byles Memorial Home, 99 Huntington St., New London, CT. Donations in his memory may be made to the Lawrence & Memorial Hospital Development Fund, 365 Montauk Ave., New London, CT 06320.