Robert T. Winslow

HOLLIS/WESTBROOK — Robert Thomas Winslow, 66, passed away on April 10, 2011, from pancreatic cancer, at the Gosnell Memorial House, with family around him.

He was born in Portland on July 25, 1944, the son of Henry and Evelyn (Nadeau) Winslow. He attended St. Mary’s school in Westbrook until the eighth grade and then entered Westbrook High School, graduating in 1962.

He enlisted in the Navy after graduation, and served on the aircraft carrier USS Wasp CVS 18 based in Boston, Mass. His tour of duty was during the NASA Space Program Gemini. His ship picked up the Gemini XII capsule and the astronauts James Lovell and “Buzz” Aldren. When his tour was over, he was hired in 1965 by the S.D. Warren Paper Company in Westbrook, and married his high school sweetheart, Donnabeth Petto. He retired from the mill in April of 2004 after 38 years of service.

Bob was a quiet, solitary man that loved nature and the outdoors and was an avid hunter and fisherman. He went on many fishing trips to Northern Quebec, Canada and Northern Maine. He especially enjoyed hunting in Cornish at his beloved “Camp Buckhorn.” When he retired, Bob and Donnabeth took a trip across the United States and up to Alaska in their fifth-wheel camper, returning via traveling through all the provinces of Canada — a retirement dream come true. They loved their fishing trips to beautiful Pierce Pond in the spring and summer, and fishing and camping in Greenville. Bob taught Donnabeth to love the wilderness outdoors and its peaceful solitude. They had some wonderful camping trips to the northern Maine wilderness. They started out with tenting, then went to a slide-in camper for the truck. Then Bob figured Donnabeth had paid her dues and went and bought the fifth-wheel camper.

Winter was Donnabeth’s playground and she did get Bob out on cross-country skis. They had some great weekends in Jackson, N.H. skiing the Ellis River trails. He never took up the downhill skiing with Donnabeth. During their retirement, Donnabeth started skiing midweek and Bob, being a wonderful cook, would cook dinner on the days she would ski. What a treat. They also loved working in their vegetable garden in the summer. He would check it out frequently after the spring planting and pretty soon he would come in and say, “the peas are up” or later on, “blossoms on the cukes.” They did a lot of preserving of the vegetables over the years, along with jams and pickles, which tasted real good come winter.

Bob was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and reached the grade of Eagle Scout. During his scouting days, he worked at Camp Hinds in Raymond and Camp Bomazeen in Belgrade. He was also a member of the Westbrook Rescue at one time.

He was predeceased by his parents, Henry and Evelyn Winslow of Westbrook; his uncle; and grandparents, Emile and Lillian Nadeau of Westbrook and Sophie and Michael Winslow of Portland.

Bob is survived by his wife of 45 years, Donnabeth Petto; a son, Daniel of Hollis; a daughter, Christine Latini of Westbrook; three grandchildren; a brother, Dennis of Raymond; a niece and a nephew.

A funeral Mass was held on Wednesday, April 13, at St. Anthony’s Church on Brown Street in Westbrook.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Maine Wilderness Watershed Trust, P.O. Box 5660, Augusta, ME 04332-5660, or Gosnell Memorial Hospice House, 11 Hunnewell Rd., Scarborough, ME 04074.