Robert G. Fuller

Robert Gorham Fuller, 99, of Westwood died at the residence in Fox Hill Village, where he and his late wife had resided for some years past, on November, 10, 2010. Mr. Fuller was born on May 31, 1911 in Brookline to Robert G. Fuller and Genevieve (Morrill) Fuller. While he was still of tender years the family removed to Dover, where he spent the great part of his life. He attended Charles River School in Dover and, a few years after completing his secondary education and marrying Constance W. Bader of Dover, volunteered for and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He was stationed in British Guiana and ferried multi-engine aircraft between there and Dakar, Africa.

Mr. Fuller had previous civilian flying experience which served him well while in the military. At one point he was piloting a friend’s Curtis JN-4 single engine biplane (the famous “Flying Jenny” model) from Long Island to Massachusetts when the engine quit. Mr. Fuller safely landed the plane in a broccoli field in Mendon, MA and escaped with but a few bumps and bruises despite the aircraft’s nosing over during the landing. He was an automobile enthusiast as well and raced his Type 35C Bugatti in New England and New York during the ‘30s. Later he purchased the first XK 120 Jaguar sold in New England. His 1967 Mercedes-Benz 230 sedan, bought new and which he faithfully maintained, survives him and is now owned by his son, Robert, Jr.

Following his military service, Mr. Fuller returned to Dover and managed family investments first out of an office in Boston and then in Dover. He referred to himself, half seriously and half in jest, as similar to “The Late George Apley”, the proper Bostonian in the Marquand novel of the same name. He referred to the Dover office as “the counting house,” and kept a sharp eye on the doings in Dover Square which he could see from his office window. He was a member of the Dover Volunteer Fire Department, served on the Town’s Cemetery Commission, and was a member of George B. Preston Post 209 of the American Legion. He and Mrs. Fuller later moved to Dedham but eventually returned to Dover. There they built a house on Pegan Lane where they remained until moving to Fox Hill Village. Mr. Fuller drove from Westwood to his Dover office until his ninety-seventh birthday, when he failed the eye test for his driver’s license. He was sure this failure was due to his bringing the wrong pair of glasses to the test site, but commented that it was just as well because he would have had to renew it in 2012 when he would be 102 years old. Nonetheless, he continued to work at his office until late in 2008 through the kindness of this long-time administrative assistant, Martha Marshall, who became his driver.

Mr. Fuller was a skilled and devoted angler, both salt and fresh water. Until his early nineties he trekked every spring after “ice-out” with his late brother Benjamin and, in earlier years, with his late brother Henry as well, to Cobb’s Pierce Pond Camps in North New Portland, Maine. Mr. Fuller’s name and those of his brothers are inscribed on the camp’s “Wall of Fame.” He and his late wife spent many summers in York Harbor, Maine as well, where Mr. Fuller kept his Boston Whaler motorboat, Tringa II.

Mr. Fuller was a member of the Somerset Club in Boston, In York Harbor, he served for many years as Treasurer of the Agamenticus Yacht Club and was a member there of the Reading Room and the Volunteer Veteran Firemen’s Association.
Mr. Fuller was predeceased by his wife, Constance, three brothers, Horace Williams Fuller, Brigadier General (Retired), U.S. Marine Corps Reserve of Spetsai, Greece, Henry Morrill Fuller, of York, Main, Benjamin Apthorp Gould Fuller, II of Waltham and a sister, Anne Hutchinson Fuller, also of Greece. His two sons, Robert G., Jr. of Winthrop, Maine and his wife Moira survive him as well as her four children and seven grandchildren who were warmly received into the family, another son, Randolph J. Fuller of Boston and a number of nieces and nephews.

Thanks are due to Barbara, Mary, Dottie, Bridie and all his other caregivers at Fox Hill Village. At his request, there will be no formal funeral service, and burial in the Dover Cemetery will be private. Arrangements are by Eaton Funeral Home of Needham. Those wishing to make contributions in his name may direct them to Charles River School, PO Box 339, Dover, MA 02030-0339 or to the Dover Historical Society, PO Box 534, Dover, MA 02030-0534

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