Robert (Bob) Goff Cushman, Jr.

INDUSTRY – On October 4, 2017, Robert (Bob) Goff Cushman, Jr. departed our presence, escaping physical limitations that for 15 years following a devastating stroke, had cruelly imprisoned him, denying Bob the pleasures of the active outdoors lifestyle that was the essence of his being. He passed away peacefully following a second stroke episode.  Bob, the loving son of the late Eleanor Hopkins Cushman and Robert Goff Cushman, was a longtime resident of Industry, Maine, having spent his formative years in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Bob attended Taunton Schools, graduating from Taunton High School in 1961, earning his letter as a member of the Gus DiRubio-coached Taunton team. Bob later graduated from Wesley Junior College, Dover, Delaware and matriculated at Boston University before leaving to enter the United States Army in 1966 and serving a tour in Vietnam.  He returned home in 1967 and acquired his 1967 Pontiac Firebird, a prized possession he maintained until late in life.  Following his military service, Bob pursued a vocation in real estate sales before following his love of the outdoors life, relocating to Cape May, New Jersey where he was self-employed in farming, operating a very popular and successful neighborhood farm stand.

Bob’s New England roots and that love for a rural setting led him in 1991 to journey to Maine where he settled in Industry and established his homestead, the iconic Cushman Farm on Shaw Hill Road. In what was an idyllic venue for Bob, he pursued a self sustaining lifestyle, applying his carpentry skills to maintaining his classic New England farmhouse and barn, growing his own food, tending to his pet dogs, cats, chickens, goats and two cows.  Bob could often be seen cutting and stacking his firewood, operating his tractor as he cut his meadow and digging out following Industry’s traditionally heavy snows.  In his retirement, Bob would often in a gesture of kindness, mow a neighbor’s lawn or offer to tackle other chores without being asked. And for many years he would retreat to his “north camp” in Chain of Ponds, close to the Canadian border, where he pursued his love of hunting and canoeing, often gifting friends with a supply of venison.

Bob had a seemingly limitless passion for genealogy. He was very proud of his lineage as a Mayflower descendant, and he enjoyed tracking down his ancestors’ burial sites throughout Massachusetts. He was a longtime member of Taunton’s Old Colony History Museum and the Society of Mayflower Descendants. He exhibited an uncanny ability to recall the historical highlights of Taunton and to provide detailed accounts of his own ancestry and of Taunton’s founders and early institutions. Bob’s commitment to and love for his home town was clearly visible as at his own volition he would routinely mow and maintain the grounds of the First Parish Church and the Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Bob inherited his father’s keen sense of humor. His friends were well-accustomed to his goodnatured ribbing, the source of which they knew was his caring heart. In May 2002, while working on his land, Bob suffered the debilitating stroke that would greatly affect the balance of his years. Above all, Bob succeeded in remaining in his own beloved Cushman Farm up until the day of his passing. On many days, weather permitting, drivers rounding that corner on Shaw Hill Road would see Bob seated at his front porch command post enjoying the sunshine.  While Bob could no longer farm his land or pursue his love of hunting and the outdoors, his spirit and sense of humor never failed him. Bob loved to follow the New England Patriots and would joke that his facial resemblance to Bill Belichick accorded him a co-coaching role. Bob’s caregivers soon learned to appreciate his often sharp-tongued but kindhearted barbs.

Bob leaves a saddened circle of friends, neighbors and long-term caregivers. He was especially close to his friend, companion and caregiver Anita Maheu of Wilton, Maine. A spring graveside ceremony is to be planned at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Taunton, the burial site of Bob’s mother and father, where his ashes will be laid to rest with military honors. Newspaper notices of the planned event will be provided.

His friends encourage you to share condolences and tributes on his memorial wall at www.wilesrc.com. Direct cremation care has been in the care of the Wiles Remembrance Center. 137 Farmington Falls Rd., (Rtes. 2&27) Farmington.