BRUNSWICK – Robert Edwin Hartill, 74, died Thursday, Dec. 13, ending years of illness. At his side was his wife of 43 years, Jean, and their sons, Daniel and Jonathan.

He went peacefully and without pain.

Bob was born on April 16, 1933, in the small town of Clover Hill, N.J. He was the last of six children born to Hetsel and Jefferson Hartill.

When he was young, his time was split between the New Jersey dairy farm, and homes in Florida and Brunswick. In his 20s, he settled here, working for nine years at the former Free-Moc Shoe Factory in Freeport and 20 years at the Pejepscot Paper Mill in Topsham. Meanwhile, he raised a family. In 1964, he married the former Jean Morrill of Cumberland.

He was known for his passionate protection of his family, his love of dogs, and a silly sense of humor. That humor sometimes got him into trouble. It also kept him going during hard times.

In the mid-1980s, as the paper mill was closing, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Refusing doctor’s recommendations to remove his voice box, he underwent 40 radiation treatments and many operations. The illness stole his deep baritone voice, leaving him with a raspy whisper. But he survived, aiding Jean in her home day care when he recovered. Over the years, they together watched over hundreds of local children.

Jean lives in Brunswick, near Jonathan. Daniel lives in Lewiston with his wife, Dawn.

He is survived by four brothers and sisters, Jessie Leitner of Boca Raton, Fla., Mary Lipovsky of Brunswick, David Hartill of Brunswick and Ruth Marks of Clearwater, Fla.; his other brother, Donald Hartill, died in 2006. He had five grandchildren, Jonathan and Bailey Hartill of Brunswick and Russell, Ryan and Reagan Courbron of Lewiston.