Robert L. Traver

Robert L. Traver
Robert L. (Bob) Traver died February 25, 2025, at the Monarch in Southbury. He was a long-time resident of Woodbury and was born in Waterbury, CT, on May 20, 1924. He saw some amazing things during his 100 years of life and was guided by his parents, Lyle G. and Irene (Stillman) Traver, and his sister, Dorothy, into activities he enjoyed and participated in his whole life. Bob attended St. Margret's Parochial Elementary School in Waterbury and Crosby High School, graduating in 1942. He fondly remembered, as a boy, train trips to Rockport and Glouster, MA, to visit his fisherman grandfather and grandmother there. Bob was a proud veteran of the US Navy, enlisting in 1942 and was assigned to the just built USS Thatcher DD514, a destroyer, as a member of the original crew. He was a Fire Controlman 3rd Class. On the Thatcher, he was involved in almost every major naval action of WWII in the Pacific and the ship earned 12 battle stars. The Thatcher was hit by two Japanese kamikazes during the Battle of Okinawa and survived.
After his WWII discharge, Bob then attended the University of Connecticut at Avery Point and at Storrs and studied Geology. He was subsequently employed by the US Geological Survey in Knoxville, TN and Washington, DC. Returning to Waterbury, he became a draftsman and later a mechanical engineer. He was employed by a number of firms in the area and spent the last 25 years of his working life at Branson Sonic Power in Danbury.
Bob was the widower of Lorraine Clemente Traver, marrying the love of his life in June of 1949, and is survived by his three children, Bob and his wife Sandy of Bethlehem, Steve Traver of Oakville, and Judy Traver of Bethlehem, and grandsons, Matthew Traver of Florida, Adam (Glori) Blasavage of Hamden and Kyle Blasavage of Bethlehem. Bob was predeceased by his sister, Dorothy Dohrman, of Watertown. He is also survived by his nieces and nephew and their families, Marge Stalker, Linda Hladik, Jean Fidao, Nancy Itkin, Betsy Dailey, Barbara Burns, Susan Landino, and Austin Dohrman.
Following the passions of his early life in Waterbury, Bob was an active member of the Quassapaug Sailing Club, the Watertown Rifle Club, the Middlebury Swim Club, the Washington Art Association and the Watertown Skating Club. He served as a member and chairman of the Woodbury Library Board. Bob loved boats and the sea and was a talented artist and he liked to tinker, to build and to repair things in his basement. Bob held several patents for everything from ultra sonic machinery to neckwear. He was proud of his family's links to Woodbury, going back to his great-grandfather, and spoke often of the open trolley rides to visit there. He maintained that Woodbury and the state of Connecticut were the best places in the world to live. He and Lorriane loved their neighborhood and were close to Sandy and Curt Miles, Arnold and Martina Rasmussen and Hana and Bob Tyler. Bob and Lorraine enjoyed travel to Hawaii, all over the US and Canada, for family visits and Navy reunions, and especially to Rockport, MA.
He spent his last days in the care of the kind staff at the Monarch of Southbury. At his wishes, he wanted no public celebration of his passing and the Munsen and Lovetere Funeral Home took care of the arrangements. In keeping with his lifelong habit of procrastination, this obituary is well-aged.