Robert S. Wilkinson, resident of Bridgton, died peacefully at home, at the age of 88, on November 25, 2023.

Bob was born on May 5, 1935; he grew up in Brookline, Mass. His parents, sister, and brothers all enjoyed many summers at their family vacation home on Province Mountain. His book, The Black Cloak, is a funny memoir filled with wistful stories of more innocent times from his childhood.

In 1953, he graduated from Browne and Nichols School, currently known as Buckingham Browne and Nichols School. After graduation, Robert was proud to serve his country in the U.S. Army as a private. He was stationed in Germany, and in 1958, he married his first wife, Erika. Over the next six years, they started a family with three children.

After returning stateside, Bob attended Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English for writers, where he earned his master’s degree in English and met highly regarded writers and poets including Robert Frost and John Berryman, two of his favorites. Upon graduation, he decided to become an English teacher. He taught in both public and private schools, including Rutland Middle School in Vermont, Brooks School in North Andover, Browne and Nichols School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Antilles School in St. Thomas, USVI, and other schools in New Hampshire, Maine, Florida, and St. John, USVI.

Mr. Wilkinson, “Wilkie” to his students, was also a well-loved wrestling coach. The Classes of ‘67 and ‘68 invited one person, Wilkie, their favorite teacher, to their 50th Class Reunions.

This tribute is from one of his students:

“With deep sorrow I must share with the entire BB&N (Buckingham Browne and Nichols) community that Robert Wilkinson B&N class of ’53, passed away Saturday, November 25th, 2023. Soon after graduating from Middlebury College, he returned to his alma mater to teach English and coach wrestling in the mid to late turbulent 60s. Some of us B&N baby boomers were privileged to have Wilkie as an English teacher, but a more select group of us were extraordinarily fortunate to have him coach us in wrestling. Those who knew him well knew him to be consistently reliable and unwavering in his principles, regardless of the prevailing circumstances or trends. He will be remembered as a man who led by example, adhered to his convictions and moral compass, even in the face of adversity or personal sacrifice. He taught us integrity, strength of character, and a deep sense of personal responsibility. He embodied courage, loyalty, and uncompromising honesty. The lasting lesson that coach taught us was that true strength lies not in conforming to external pressures but in upholding one’s principles, even when it means standing alone. He was much more than a wrestling coach during the winter. He was a man for all seasons. (JL)”

Bob and Claire met at Lenny’s on the Pike, a popular jazz club near Boston. In 1969, Bob married the love of his life, Claire. And for the next 54 years, life was never dull.

For starters, the nationwide civil unrest and anti-American protests in the 1960s motivated them to pack up and relocate. In 1970, they moved back to the land, not far from Bob’s childhood summer home in Parsonsfield. There they bought “more or less 100 acres” in West Newfield complete with beavers in the meadow, an old cellar hole, an artesian well, and a cemetery.

With the help of many friends and using only hand tools, they built an off-the-grid farm from salvage materials two miles down a dirt road, with no running water, and no electricity. The place was vibrant and fragrant with horses, cows, goats, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, rabbits, pigs, dogs, cats, bees, and even earth worms. Over the next 16 years, Bob worked as a carpenter, opened a grain and feed store, tutored, and taught English.

Always musical, Bob, a natural performer, could play the guitar and piano by ear, and sing in harmony. His children never tired of hearing him playing A.A. Milne poems that he set to music. At age 13, Bobby’s first original song was a smash hit, My Doggie, but his most recent original, Smoking Woodstove, became his signature. By the soft glow of kerosene lamps and with the generator purring outside, Saturday nights on the farm were frequently filled with the music from his impressive record collection... Dave Brubeck, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles’ White Album, Rolling Stones, It’s a Beautiful Day...

With children grown and gone, he tried his hand at model boat building. Bob was commissioned by several notables and built a variety of boats and canoes, including Leon Gorman, grandson of L.L. Bean. For several years, the L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport, Maine displayed his model canoes.

In 1986, Bob and Claire branched out and moved to Florida, where he taught again. While taking a break from teaching, they built a 35-foot sailboat and sailed away to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

After 26 years away, in 2012, the call of the wild lured them back to Maine. They settled in Bridgton, where they found what they were looking for ... family, faith and friends. With a happy heart, Bob entered heaven while resting in the arms of his “best girl.”

As a story teller, Bob was always ready to bring a smile with a joke. He wrote poems, short stories, true adventures, and writing manuals. As a teacher, he was beloved. As a coach, he encouraged ordinary people to engage in the extraordinary. As an American patriot, he loved his country.

Bob was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, prayers, and support he and Claire received during his extended time of healing and his recent illness; he will be missed beyond measure.

Mr. Wilkinson is survived by his wife Claire, his daughter Heather and her husband Stephen, his son Russel and his wife Mona, his daughter Grace and her husband Barry, his grandchildren Matthew, Alexander and his fiancee Rebecca, Jeffrey, Spencer, and Raymond, and his brother Daniel and wife Ginger of Memphis, and many nieces, nephews, and dear friends.

A memorial service will be held at St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church, 85 Pleasant Street, Conway, N.H. at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 5, 2024 with a reception immediately following. https://www.stmargaretconway.org/