Obituary : Robert Williston
Robert Williston of Oak Bluffs died on Saturday, July 19, at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital after a progressive illness. He was 72 years of age.
He was born in Manhattan, N.Y. on May 25, 1936 and spent three years of his childhood in Puerto Rico before moving to Martha's Vineyard. He was graduated from the Oak Bluffs High School in 1955 and soon after enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was discharged in 1958 with a disability and returned to Oak Bluffs.
He was a jeweler for Balfour Company and later worked at the Martha's Vineyard Shipyard and worked for the Town of Oak Bluffs for the Fire Department and retired as the shellfish warden.
He was an avid sportsman and enjoyed fishing, and everything dealing around the water, and hunting. Anything he did he did to perfection. He was a loyal friend to many people and was always there to lend a hand and you could count on him for anything.
He had a loyal and loving wife who stuck by him through thick and thin through their almost 47 years of marriage. They worked hard together to obtain their lovely home on Dreamers Way and enjoyed being there to wait for the grandchildren to come by and visit. Words cannot express the love that he always had for his son, Bobby, and daughter, Brenda, and of course when the grandchildren started to arrive he was beyond words of how he felt about them.
He is survived by his wife, Bertha (Stafford) Williston; his son, Robert T. Williston and his wife, Lisa; his daughter, Brenda Williston; his grandchildren, Lauren Williston, Emilyanne Williston, Sarah Williston, Joseph Medeiros, and Antone Silvia; a great-grandson, Joseph Medeiros V; his brothers, Ashley DePriest, Osby DePriest and Don DePriest; and several nephews.
He will be missed by many people we know of and we're sure by many people we don't know of because he made a friend of everyone he met. He will be missed especially by his dog, Buddie, who rode beside him in the car.
A graveside service for the burial of his cremains will be held in the Oak Grove Cemetery, Pacific Avenue, Oak Bluffs on Wednesday, July 30, at 11 am, officiated by the Rev. Robert Hensley. Military honors will be provided by the Veterans of Martha's Vineyard.
Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown-Vineyard haven Road, Oak Bluffs. Visit ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information.
