Robert G. Fuller Jr.

1938 - 2026

FULLER, Robert Jr. Robert G. Fuller, Jr. Lawyer, Philanthropist, Gentleman Potomac, Maryland Robert Gorham Fuller, Jr., a retired lawyer residing in Potomac, MD and formerly of Winthrop, ME, died on February 14, 2026, at Cogir Senior Living Facility of Potomac. He was born in Boston, MA, on December 28, 1938, the oldest son of the late Robert G. Fuller and Constance B. Fuller. After completing his secondary education at Milton Academy in Massachusetts, Fuller graduated from Princeton University in 1961 and the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1964. He practiced law briefly in southern Maine before returning to Augusta, where the Fuller family had resided for several generations. One Augusta ancestor was Henry Weld Fuller, Jr., who built the residence in Augusta now occupied by the Kennebec Historical Society. He was also related to Brig. Gen. Seth Williams, a Civil War officer who served on the staff of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Melville Weston Fuller, who was the chief justice of the United States from 1888 to 1910 and Daniel Cony, the father of public education in Augusta and for whom Cony High School is named. Mr. Fuller was an assistant attorney general in Maine from 1968 to 1970. He left public service to start his own law firm and later joined the Augusta office of Pierce Atwood LLP, from which he retired in 1991. Mr. Fuller turned to managing family investments with his late father, who died in 2010. His many interests turned to philanthropy. He gave generously to many Maine charitable organizations and institutions, often with no desire for recognition. In Augusta, he was a major donor to Howard Hill Historical Park and provided the funds for the veterans' study area and lounge at the University of Maine at Augusta. He helped to build a shelter for women veterans, the Sisters in Arms Center on Summer Street. A family foundation he headed funded the children's reading room at Lithgow Public Library and he personally funded the rehabilitation section at Maine General Medical Center's Alfond Center for Health, in honor of his wife of 23 years, Moira Hastings Fuller, in 2015. The foyer of the Kennebec Valley YMCA is also named in honor of Mr. Fuller and his (late) wife. Mr. Fuller also endowed a professorship at the University of Pennsylvania law school that bears his name. He and other family members have supported both the Benjamin A.G. Fuller and Harriet Williams Fuller Fund and the Horace Williams Fund, established by Fuller family members and relatives in the 19th-century, to assist and support worthy and deserving college-bound students from Augusta. The statue of Daniel Cony in the lobby of Cony High School and the statue of Melville Weston Fuller that stood for several years in Augusta were both given by Mr. Fuller. He donated most of the funds to resurface the multi-sport athletic field at Cony High School, now named "Fuller Field." He became a major donor to the Friends of the Erben Organ in New York City and was most recently involved in supporting academic and private organizations promoting ethical and critical thinking, which he believed to be the foundation of good character and a civil society. Mr. Fuller spoke fluent French and had many friends among Augusta's Franco-American community. Le Club Calumet gave him its Augusta's 2021 Citizen of the Year award. After serving briefly as an enlisted Marine, Fuller became a reserve officer in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Navy. He commanded two reserve units and retired with the rank of Captain. Mr. Fuller was a serious outdoorsman. Before, as he put it, "the warranty on my knees expired," he often overnight-hiked portions of the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire and Maine. He explored the foothills of the Atlas Mountains and hiked through the Cotswold countryside in England and in Iceland. He climbed Mount Katahdin, which he said every good Mainer fit to do so should do. Mr. Fuller was a stalwart member of the Winthrop Lions Club. He was named Lion of the Year, received the President's Service Award, and was selected as a Melvin Jones Fellow. Additionally, he was a serious writer. He published a crime novel set in Maine, "Unnatural Deaths," as well as a graphic short story, "Flashback Morning," that was included in the Milspeak Foundation anthology of the best military-themed short stories published in 1999. His piece "The Christmas Contract" appeared in the Maine Bar Association Journal. Recently, he provided the research for a comprehensive biography of Melville Weston Fuller, entitled Calm Command, written by historian and author Douglas Rooks, and published in 2024. Universally admired for his intelligence, fair-mindedness, and indefatigable spirit, Fuller's commitment to family, community, and country guided his conscience and can best be summed up by his inscription on the plinth of the Melville Weston Fuller statue: Justice is the guardian of liberty. Mr. Fuller relocated to the Cogir Senior Living Facility in 2024, to an apartment he jokingly referred to as "Wits' End." Lifelong friend, Linda L. Buttrick, joined him, and together, they enjoyed the care and companionship of many helpers, family, and friends who are now bereft of "The Captain." Mr. Fuller is survived and sorely missed by Linda; and her children, Suzanne Caron of Augusta, ME and Jonathan Buttrick of Woonsocket, RI; several stepchildren from his prior marriage, including Diane Hastings and her husband, Frank Panopoulos, Esq. of Potomac, MD, Linda Frost and her husband, Clifford, Winthrop, ME, Thomas Hastings and his wife, Karen of Rochester, NH; as well as seven step-grandchildren. He is also survived by a younger brother, Randolph J. Fuller of Boston, MA; six Fuller cousins and several extended Fuller family nephews and nieces. Due to the profound impact that Fuller has made on the lives of so many, he will be honored in both Maryland and Maine. A Celebration of Life will be held at St. James's Episcopal Church, in Potomac, on April 29, at 10:30 am. A Graveside Service will be held in Augusta, in early June, followed by a reception for all who knew and loved him. The date and time will be announced through the funeral home website at a later date. Arrangements have been entrusted to Plummer Funeral Home, 16 Pleasant St., AUGUSTA, ME. Condolences, stories and photos may be shared, at www.plummerfh.com Plummer Funeral Home Augusta, ME 04330 (207) 622-9311 www.plummerfh.com

View the online memorial for Robert Jr. FULLER