HARRISON, Robert M. (Bob), age 89 of Winthrop, passed away peacefully in the arms of his beloved and devoted wife Alice M. (Hoar), Sunday, May 22, 2016, at Health Park Hope House Hospice, Ft. Myers, FL, of multiple complications following major vascular surgery in January. Bob struggled valiantly to recover and return to Winthrop in time for granddaughter Moriah’s college graduation before multiple complications and infections led him to elect comfort care in the hospice on May 19. His final days were spent quietly attended by Alice and Nancy, who were with him in his final moments, and in the love of all of his children and grandchildren, who were with him in spirit.    

He is survived by children Paul R. and his wife Judy of Bangor, ME, and Chicago, IL; Patricia E. of Winthrop; Barbara M. of Winthrop; and Nancy R. and her husband Frank Goldblatt of Winthrop; Grandchildren Geoffrey T. Harrison of Bangor, ME, and Chicago, IL, Caitlin Medb Harrison of Medford, MA, Padraic A. Harrison of Bangor, ME, and Moriah E. Goldblatt of Winthrop; and nieces Gayle (Harrison) Forst of Stuart, FL, and Susan (Harrison) Bailey of Lansdale, PA.    

Bob was born, April 27, 1927, in Everett, the second and last surviving of three children of William A. and Ruth A. (Munnis) Harrison of Everett, MA. Bob graduated from Everett High School in 1945, served in the United States Coast Guard before following in the footsteps of his grandfather, and attending the New England Barber College, graduating in 1947. He married in 1949 and opened Harrison’s Barber Shop in Winthrop Center, 12 Bartlett Rd., in 1955 after moving the young Harrison family to Winthrop in 1954. In 1968, Bob assumed the role of Supervisor of Attendance for the Winthrop Public Schools, a position he occupied until his retirement in 1993.   

Bob was known as a consummate storyteller and conversationalist as well as for his incisive wit and humor – characteristics he retained until the end. Bob passionately believed in the power of education and the intrinsic value of every student. He saw his role as truant officer as one of advocacy for the students of Winthrop.    

Bob was a founding member of Dollars for Scholars and a Town Meeting member. He was a longtime member of the St. John the Evangelist Holy Name Society and served a term as president in the mid-1960s.   

Family and friends are cordially invited to attend the visitation from the funeral home on Sunday, June 19, 2016 from 4:00 to 8:00 PM. The funeral will be conducted from the funeral home on Monday, June 20, 2016 at 9:00 AM followed by a funeral mass in St. John  the Evangelist Church 320 Winthrop St., Winthrop at 10:00 AM. Committal private. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in Bob’s memory may be made to Tufts Medical Center, Herb Levine, MD, Foundation, 800 Washington Street, Box 231, Boston, MA 02111, or Health Park Hope Hospice, 9470 Health Park Circle, Fort Myers, Florida 33908.   

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