Robert L. Muir

Robert L. Muir

August 8, 1941 to April 22, 2024

Bob Muir always believed that he had achieved the optimum use of a car if he could drive it to a used car dealership, but no farther.  He had the same philosophy about the body that he used to embrace life, and all that it had to offer….and he gloriously achieved his goal.

Robert Lawrence Muir was born on August 8, 1941 in Cohoes, NY.  He spent a Huckleberry Finn childhood on the banks of Lake Champlain in Burlington VT, the place he always called home. After finishing his military obligation, primarily in Fort Sill, OK, he moved to Meriden CT with his brother Paul to find employment near their brother Frank.  It was there that he met his first wife, Diane (Purcell) Muir with whom he raised their two children Scott and Randi until Diane’s untimely death.  He worked for most of his life as a machinist at Pratt Whitney in many departments and locations.  He was proud of having completed their arduous apprenticeship program.

Bob truly loved meeting new people and learning new things.  From his early days of building control lines model airplanes, to carving wood in his later years, Bob was always willing to try something new and perfect it.  He learned hunting, fishing and boxing from his father. He later mastered and taught Karate, which informed his resilience in the face of adversity.  He was thrilled by climbing Mt. Washington; jumping out of perfectly good planes many times; being a passenger in a hot air balloon, a glider and a stunt plane; exploring the west coast of Scotland in a windjammer for a week; listening to good music, especially blues; drumming with an amazing community of people; reading a good book; watching UCONN basketball teams win; sharing a good story; and enjoying his morning retirement routine of having breakfast at his favorite restaurant, followed by reading the newspapers by the river while watching the eagles fly overhead. 

Bob grew up in a home filled with generations of people, and throughout the years, his home was always open to those who needed it.  

Bob was predeceased by his cherished wife, Diane (Purcell) Muir and her parents, Raymond Purcell and Frances (Winkel) Purcell, and her brother Gary Purcell; his influential parents Francis Wyman Muir, and Irene Blanche (Martin) Muir Griffin; brother, Frank Muir; brother, Paul Muir; sister, Beverly (Muir) Weston; and his niece, Mary Jude Gauvin. 

Those left to cherish his memory include his son Scott, and wife Wendy-Marie Chabot; and his daughter, Randi and her partner, Jon Murray.  He is also survived by his beloved wife Maureen whom he married aboard the sailing schooner Argia in Mystic in 1996;   her children Kristin (Sampiere) Holden (later joined by her husband Chris Holden and their amazing daughter Lindsey), and Drew Sampiere; and her mother, Mary (Murphy) Stratford.  Bob is survived by his sisters-in-law Shirley Muir, Jo Muir and Joan DiGrazia; several nieces and nephews, and great-nieces and nephews, who will always have great memories of Good Ol’ Uncle Bob.  He is also missed by his faithful snuggler, Scout.

We are grateful to all the friends who reached out, who took Bob out to breakfast, and who made his life richer.  We will be forever grateful to the medical professionals who worked so hard at different points in Bob’s life to help him enjoy life to its fullest, especially the amazing providers at Middlesex Hospital during the past few months.  

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The UU Church in Meriden, 328 Paddock Avenue, Meriden, CT 06450  https://uucentralct.org/ or The Friends of the Portland Library, 20 Freestone Avenue, Portland, CT 06480.

The Celebration of Life for Bob Muir will take place on Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m.  at Portland Riverfront Park, 284 Brownstone Ave, Portland, CT. Drummers, and anyone interested in playing a percussion instrument, are invited to gather at 10 a.m.  There are picnic benches, but please bring a chair if you are able.  We will enjoy food and company (and maybe some more drumming) after the service.