PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Robert “Bob” P. Cormier, 86, of Presque Isle, Maine, passed away peacefully on January 31, 2018, with his family by his side. He was born to the late John J. and Edith (Cyr) Cormier on March 10, 1931 in Keegan, Maine, and raised in Portage Lake, Maine.
Upon graduation from Ashland High School, he served in the U.S. Air Force from 1949 to 1952. Upon return from his duties with the 28th Reconnaissance Technical Squadron and subsequent assignments in Virginia and Texas, he returned to Portage Lake and soon began a 42-year career with the Maine Department of Transportation, retiring in 1995. He was married to Alice Albert of Madawaska, Maine, on May 9, 1955. They settled in Presque Isle, where they raised their two children, Diane and Phil.
Bob was blessed with a playful spirit and a healthy sense of wonder. He loved his “work” with the M.D.O.T., and apparently was loved by his colleagues (so he told us). He had a great sense of humor and was a gifted storyteller. His knowledge of trivial things was vast. He had a tremendous love of music and was active as a singer in the community for most of his adult life. He worried about missing barbershop quartet rehearsal the day before he died. Besides singing, Bob loved kayaking, table tennis, bowling, mountain biking, hiking, playing cards and, above all, frisbee. He was really good at all of them. He will be missed by everyone he touched.
He is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Alice A. Cormier (regarded by everyone who knew them as a “saint”); daughter, Diane and husband, Bob Mosca, of Hampden; and son, Phil of Falmouth. He is also survived by granddaughter, Gina Mosca and husband, Jason Langseth, of Malden, MA; grandson, Gabriel Mosca and wife, Barbara Wilkinson Mosca; great-grandchildren, Charles and Violet, all of Epping, NH; and grandson, Ray Cormier and his mother, Ann Kelly Cormier, of Falmouth, ME. He is also survived by sister, Jean and husband, Steve Petrovcin, of St. Petersburg, FL; and sister-in-law, Beatrice Levesque Cormier of Portage Lake.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. Jude’s Children’s hospital, www.stjude.org/give.html. Friends may call 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb.3, 2018, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Parish of the Precious Blood, Presque Isle, where a funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. A reception will follow the Mass at the Knights of Columbus Hall behind the church. Online condolences may be expressed at www.duncan-graves.com.
