Robert E. Conners

Weston – Mr. Robert E. Conners, of Weston, entered into eternal rest peacefully following a long illness on Monday, January 31, 2011 at the Faulkner Hospital in Boston. He was 81.

Bob was born in Waltham on March 31, 1929, a son of the late Edward J. and Mildred (Bowman) Connors, and had lived in Waltham for many years before moving to the Back Bay of Boston in 1980. He lived there for twenty-six years before moving to Weston.

He was a graduate of Boston College High School and he also attended Rhode Island School of Design. During the Korean War he served with the United States Marine Corps.

Bob had worked for many years as a fire underwriter in San Francisco and, until his retirement, he had worked in retail sales for many years. During his retirement, Bob moved to the Back Bay where he would proudly proclaim that he lived on the corner of Gloucester Street and public alley 432. Always possessed of a genial personality and known as a dapper dresser, blue blazers and bow ties became the uniform of the day. Bob was very well known in the shops and restaurants along Newbury Street and it was there that he acquired the lifelong moniker of ‘Back Bay Bob’. To this day an oversized framed copy of his Boston College High School graduation photo maintains a place of honor above the bar Charlie’s Eating and Drinking Saloon on Newbury Street. He will be deeply missed by his many friends and his family.

Bob leaves his brother-in-law, Richard E. Segien of Weston; his nieces and nephews, Eugenie E. Fortin and her husband, Lance, and Maria Segien, all of Weston, Richard E. Segien, Jr. of Enfield, Connecticut, Amiee Coolidge of Arlington and Clinton Coolidge and his wife, Beth, of Andover; two grand-nieces, one grand-nephew, and several cousins.

He was also the brother of the late Mildred Segien and Alice Coolidge and uncle of the late Peter Segien.

Family and friends will honor and remember Bob’s life by gathering to visit in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte.20), Waltham on Thursday February 10th, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. before leaving in procession to Saint Mary’s Church, 133 School Street, Waltham where his Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery, Waltham.