Wellesley, MA — Parry, Robert Thorndike of Needham, formerly of Wellesley, Belmont and Sagamore Beach, 92, died peacefully on Sunday, July 15, at North Hill. Devoted husband of 62 years of Peg “Marmie” Lydon Parry, who died in March, 2009. Robert leaves his children Janet Parry Ware and her husband Dwight of Gloucester, Nancy Parry Doran and her husband George of Wayland, Dr. Robert Lydon Parry and his wife Jennifer of Hudson, Ohio.
He leaves ten grandchildren: Elizabeth Ware Sargent and her husband James Anthony Sargent of Gloucester; Jeffery John Doran and his wife Colleen Doody Doran of Needham; Dwight Atwood Ware of Gloucester; Courtney Doran Egan and her husband Timothy Wood Egan of Boston; Allison Doran Olcott and her husband Timothy Stratton Olcott of Boston; Benjamin Tyler Ware of Gloucester, Devin Elizabeth Parry and Robert Carter Thorndike Parry of Shaker Heights, Ohio, and Hanna Dianne DiLuciano of Hudson Ohio. He also leaves Kimberly Sober Parry of Shaker Heights, Ohio, along with four great grandchildren; Taylor, Luke and Chase Sargent of Gloucester and Gage Olcott of Boston.
Born in Cambridge on September 18, 1919, he was raised in Belmont where he graduated from Belmont High School in 1937. Robert graduated from M.I.T. in 1941 with a degree in electrical engineering and later attended the Sloan School of Management. Employed at Boston Edison Company for his entire career, he retired as Vice President of Employee Relations. Robert’s honesty, acute sense of fairness and equality were valued on both sides of many complicated issues in public utility policy during years of great change. Those same skills made him an equally skilled negotiator within his loving family. Commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant USMC at Quantico in 1943, he served in the Pacific theater on Guam and Iwo Jima during World War II. Called again to active duty in 1950, Robert served in Korea and was honorably discharged from active service in 1953. He remained devoted to the Marine Corps, serving with loyalty and joy in the Marine Corps Reserves and finally retiring from reserve duty as a full colonel in 1973. Until the end of his life, he enjoyed the affectionate title of “Colonel” from anyone who knew him.
Lovingly known as Robes to family and friends, Bob Parry and his wife Marmie raised their family in Wellesley Massachusetts. An active member of the community, he served on multiple town boards among them The Wellesley Planning Committee, The Wellesley Assemblies and St. Paul’s Church. Robes and Marmie spent many happy years as active members of the Wellesley Country Club with cherished friends, particularly the group known as “TNTG”. Always happiest with family and friends, Robes took great joy in supporting the passion and talents of all his grandchildren at freezing hockey rinks, soccer fields too numerous to list, college football stadiums, sailboats and tennis courts all over New England. Always a sharp numbers man, Robes was an avid Boston sports fan who devoured the local sports pages to stay current when discussing stats with his family.
As a devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend, Robert Parry truly embodied the Marine Corps motto “semper fi”. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
ARRANGEMENTS: Funeral from the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 477 Washington St. (RT. 16) Wellesley, Thursday at 9:30 AM. Fuenral Mass in St. Paul Church, Wellesley at 10AM. Visitation at the Funeral Home, Thursday July 19 from 8:30 to 9:30AM. Private Interment, Cambridge Cemetery, Cambridge MA.
Donations in Robert’s memory can be made to The Semper Fi Fund, at semperfifund.org. For directions and guestbook gfdoherty.com
