Robert Dussault

Bob Dussault died peacefully in the company of family and friends on 27 September, at age 93, after a brief illness. He is the son of the late Alfred and Florence Dussault, also of Glastonbury. Bob leaves behind his loving wife and partner of 67 years, Francesca Dussault; his sister, Donna Frost of Port Washington, NY; his son, Robert Dussault and daughter-in-law, Khanh Bui; a grandson, Benjamin Dussault, and two great grandchildren, all of Northern Virginia and Washington DC. A lifelong resident, Bob loved Glastonbury. He left town only to serve in the army, and while stationed in Germany visited many European cities. He began his insurance career as an underwriter at Hartford Fire, and finished it as a Vice President and partner at Goodwin Loomis & Britton. Bob had many and varied interests. He was a lifelong reader surrounded by bookcases packed with the classics, old and contemporary poetry (he could recite extended passages of his favorites, some memorized 75 years ago), ancient and modern history, philosophy, and Japanese gardening, architecture, and joinery. A talented oil painter, Bob was also a pilot, having learned to fly both air and seaplanes from John Dufford in South Glastonbury. Bob gave back to his hometown through Little League coaching and service on the Chamber of Commerce. He joked that he deserved a statue on the Town Green for singlehandedly orchestrating the removal of toll calls between Glastonbury and Manchester. Bob loved long rides over John Tom Hill on his custom-built Richard Sachs bicycle (Fran's retirement gift); honing his aim at the archery range; building vintage pistol replicas; learning to program personal computers when they first came out; motoring top-down to Newport, RI with Fran in his Alfa Romeo and, until very recently, their daily drives to the South Glastonbury ferry slip. After retiring, Bob became skilled at carpentry, constructing Japanese style fences and screens; crafting house models; and designing and building a computer table with a complex mechanism that produced a keyboard out of a hidden compartment. Bob and Fran always enjoyed having a house cat and in recent years he trained the chipmunks living in the wall by the front door to eat walnuts from his hand, feeding one just days before he passed. Any digest of Bob's life would be incomplete without noting that, from when he started work until 3 days before his death, Bob spent 99% of his days in a suit and tie. Many wonderful friends and people filled Bob's life with companionship and caring: Scott Rioux and Vicky Aschermann, Linda and Mike Dodson, Mark and Nanette Loper, Rich and Kathy Beach, Kathi Henry, and Sue and Ray Davis; his coffee gang: Bob Fitzgerald (his daily Numbrix competitor), Dan Gregg, and Steve Greenberg; coffee house owner and contractor, Manny Cantos; restaurateur, Chu Ngo; mechanics Rick Monge and John Cavanna, the Hale Road neighbors whose generous help in so many forms made it possible for Bob and Fran to stay in their home of 66 years; his decades long physician and birthday twin, Dr. David Mintell, caring oncologist Dr. Robert Dowsett and nurse Odelia Brew. Finally, special mention is made of his "niece", Helen Wang, who was as close as family since childhood and with him at the end, and her husband Steve Stockton, daughter Elise, and parents Mei Zhang and Sheng An Wang. There are no formal arrangements and no flowers, please. Bob wanted to donate his body to the UConn School of Medicine. Visit: https://www.forevermissed.com/bob-dussault/about