1923 – 2013

LEWISTON — Robert W. Parent passed away Friday, Feb. 1, at his home on Webster Street.

He was born on Oct. 1, 1923, in Lewiston to Edmond and Yvonne Bergeron Parent. Orphaned in his early teens, Bob resided in foster homes until his paternal aunt and her husband, Grace and Lee Welch, agreed to provide Bob and his two brothers with a home.

Following his graduation from Lewiston High School in 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Force and was sent to study at the University of Mississippi for a period prior to being stationed in London, England, where he stayed for the duration of World War II.

Bob returned to Lewiston at the close of the war and married the love of his life, the former Blanche Gendron on June 11, 1949. About this time, he began working for New England Telephone a subsidiary of Bell Telephone. Moving from his initial custodial work assignment, Bob was trained as an installer/repair person, a position he held until his retirement in 1982.

A reserved man with a wry sense of humor, Bob enjoyed family activities, puttering in his workshop and golfing with his wife, which he took up following his retirement. Bob and Blanche often journeyed to Florida for a month during the winter where they connected with other family members and escaped Maine winters for a brief period of time. Bob fostered in his children a strong sense of family, as well as, an acute sense of the importance of education and work ethic.

Bob is survived by his four children, their spouses, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His survivors are daughter, Caroline Chandonnet, her husband, Daniel, of Lewiston; their two daughters, Melissa Farinas and her husband, Len, and children, Brodi, Brandon and Sophia of Lewiston; and Jaime LeBlanc, her husband, Jesse, and their daughter, Grace, of Sumner; daughter, Joan Toy and her husband, Chris, of Bath, and their daughter, Lindsay Nason of New York City; his son, Bruce and his wife, Marjorie, of Lewiston, and daughters, Katie of Brunswick and Emily of Lewiston; and son Bill, wife, Kathy, and their children, Matthew, Allison and Jennifer of Walpole, Mass.

Bob was predeceased by his wife, Blanche; his brothers, Roger and Bertrand; and sister, Lucienne.

Online condolences and sharing of memories may be expressed at www.lynchbrothers.com.