Robert Stokes Dies At 82;

Was Active In Community Life

Robert Pierson Stokes of Newtown died March 9 while visiting the Charlotte, N.C., home of his daughter and son-in-law. He passed away peacefully while reading. A resident of Sandy Hook for 57 years, he would have celebrated his 83rd birthday on May 2.

Mr Stokes is survived by his wife of 57 years, Caroline Johnston Stokes; two daughters, Nancy Stokes Saumsiegle, and her husband William, of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., and Barbara (Bonnie) Stokes Layton, and her husband John, of Charlotte, N.C.; two grandchildren, Elizabeth and David Saumsiegle; one sister, Barbara Stokes Ross of Harrisburg, Penn.

He was born in 1921 in Oak Park, Ill., the son of Robert Thomas and Nina Pierson Stokes. He grew up in Chatham, N.J., and graduated in 1943 from Dartmouth College where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.

During World War II, he was a Commanding Naval Officer of a landing craft that ferried equipment across the Pacific Ocean. He retired from the Naval Reserve after 25 years of service.

Mr Stokes and his wife moved to Newtown immediately after their marriage on June 2, 1946, after he had accepted an engineering position at the Plastic Molding Company. After five years, he joined the Curtis Packaging Company where he had several management positions during his 35-year tenure before retiring in 1986.

Upon completion of his 50th year with the Newtown Rotary Club, Bob Stokes was recognized in September 2002 with the Paul Harris Fellowship Award for his dedication, service, and leadership. He was club president in 1964–65, and during his 50-year membership he held almost every position in the club. Most recently, he was known as Master Chef for the Annual Pancake Day held every year in December, and he gained some notoriety for not revealing his secret pancake recipe that attracted many townspeople to the fundraiser breakfast.

He was a volunteer driver for Friends In Service Here (FISH), and was a former president and current member of the Horticulture Club of Newtown. He was also a longtime member of the Newtown Forest Association and the Newtown Historical Society, and he was a dedicated volunteer for the Cyrenius H. Booth Library.

Mr Stokes was a trustee of the Newtown Meeting House, and he has been a member of the Newtown Congregational Church since 1946. In recent years, he enjoyed the companionship of the “Boys Club,” and he regularly participated in the Non-Fiction Book Discussion Group at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library.

Throughout his life, Bob appreciated music. Since high school, he enjoyed playing the trombone in concert and dance bands. Over the years, he was a member of several local bands including, most recently, the Community Wind Ensemble of Western Connecticut. He sang in the Dartmouth Glee Club and he was a member of the Newtown Congregational Church choir for 25 years. During his early years in Newtown, he played in the summer Newtown Symphony Orchestra.

Participation in the American Field Service (AFS) program in Newtown, entertaining doctors from overseas at Fairfield Hills Hospital, and the Rotary Exchange Program with Yale University graduate students enriched Bob’s life in Newtown and his interest in international travel.

Bob and Caroline Stokes were selected to be Grand Marshals in the 1994 Labor Day Parade. He attended many Planning and Zoning Commission meetings where issues concerning development in Sandy Hook were discussed, including the planned streetscape project for Sandy Hook Center. Besides his involvement in community affairs, he had a great range of interests including skiing, photography, model trains and railroad history, big band music, gardening, and his dogs.

A Memorial Service is planned for Saturday, March 20, at 11 am, at the Newtown Meeting House, Main Street.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Cyrenius H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street, Newtown CT 06470, or the Heritage Preservation Trust of Newtown, PO Box 3082, Newtown CT 06470 will be welcomed.

The Newtown Bee        March 19, 2004