Robert J. Stanton

Wayland – When Bob Stanton learned of his cancer diagnosis twelve years ago, accompanied by a prognosis of six months to live, he met the news the same way that he met every challenge in his life . . . with a quiet determination and a smile to give strength to those he loved.

He'd learned as a youngster, having been afflicted with polio at the age of three, that being disabled in any way just meant that he was able to do things a different way.

His stellar golf game proved that. Bob's latest trial with cancer was something that he beat up every day living a life brimming with fullness, optimism and accomplishment.

On Saturday, October 10, 2015 Robert James Stanton drew his last breath at his Wayland home knowing that he was loved and wanted and needed by his wife of forty-one years, Julie, and their five kids. He was 63 and he would have told you that he died a lucky man.

Bob was born in Brighton on May 16, 1952, a son of Helen M. (Coleman) Stanton of Needham and the late James F. Stanton, and lived all his life in Waltham before moving to Wayland six years ago. He was a 1970 graduate of Xavier High School in Concord and four years later earned his bachelor's degree from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester.

Right out of college Bob began his lifelong career in the family insurance business started by his father, Jim Stanton, in the offices of Coleman and Sons on Main Street in Waltham. In 1991 the operation became Stanton Insurance where Bob served as president until his retirement in 2010. During his tenure Bob became a Certified Insurance Counselor and a Certified Risk Manager, important insurance industry designations that allowed him to grow the business into one of the region's most comprehensive agencies.

Bob's deep and abiding faith guided his every move and informed every decision that he made. He and Julie helped to begin marriage preparation programs in Catholic parishes in Waltham and surrounding towns and for twenty-five years they helped to run Catholic Engaged Encounter, a program of the Archdiocese of Boston to prepare young couples for the joys and the challenges they were about to face during their married life.

In the community Bob was on the short list of people everyone called on for help . . . and he freely gave of his time, talent, treasure and energy. Bob was one of the co-founders of Meadow House, now an agency of Middlesex Human Services, and was a recipient of the Robert and Thomas McNamara Award in recognition of his generosity to those in need.

The Waltham Boys & Girls Club on Exchange Street became for Bob one of his most cherished causes. He served on the board of directors for years and had been the organizations president in the late nineties. He chaired every committee and by the sheer power of his personality, energy and leadership saw to it that the Club prospered and grew during very difficult economic times.

Last year the Boys & Girls Club honored Bob as the first recipient of the Robert J. Stanton Legacy Award in recognition of his lifetime commitment to helping young people in Waltham get a leg up on life.

Bob served for two terms as a member of the Waltham City Council and for years was involved with the Waltham West Suburban Chamber of Commerce, serving as its president and was a recipient of the chamber's Community Achievement Award. He also spent twenty-two years as a coach and a sponsor of Waltham's Youth Basketball Association.

He was a member of the Waltham Rotary Club, the Weston Golf Club and Scituate Country Club . . . places where he indulged his passion for golf and the comradery of the sport. He was a member and past president of the Massachusetts Bay Investment Trust and had been on the board of the former Waltham Hospital.

It was for his family and his friends however that Bob reserved his deepest and most abiding love and affection. He would tell you that his life became complete on October 12th, 1974 when, inside Saint Agatha's Church, his sweetheart and the love of his life, Julie Hamel of Milton said, "I do".

Over the past couple of years when Bob never let on that the pain and discomfort was getting worse that his family and friends rallied around him and became known as "Team Bob". The group raised thousands of dollars for Dana Farber Cancer Institute, whose doctors and caregivers are beyond compare. Team Bob members ran in Boston Marathons, pedaled in Pan Mass Challenges and participated in Relay for Life events to help the cause.

During this past summer Bob was able to spend almost all of his time at the family home in Scituate . . . a place where he found his greatest peace, light, joy and refreshment . . . and a place where he was able to breathe deeply 'the great air' and embrace the love, the lives and the companionship of his close-knit family and friends.

"I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith" . . . the words of Paul of Tarsus but also find meaning in the life and the love and the humble lessons of Bob Stanton.

In addition to his wife, Julie, and his mother, Helen, Bob leaves his children, Geoffrey B. Stanton and his girlfriend, Shikena Burt, of Waltham, Kathryn S. Kahn and her husband, Gregory, of Reston, Virginia, Emily T. Stanton of Waltham, Elizabeth S. Blumenfeld and her husband, Oran, of McKinney, Texas and Lisa M. Stanton and her fiancé, Brian Walsh, of Walpole; his grandchildren, Hailey and Kellan Stanton, Sean Robert Blumenfeld and Robert Martin Kahn; his brothers and sister, James F. Stanton, Jr. and his wife, Patricia, of Newburyport, Anne Stanton Mikulski and her husband, Leonard, of Waltham and Edward M. 'Ned' Stanton and his wife, Sheila, of Needham; his large extended family and all of the amazing members of 'Team Bob'.

Bob was also a brother of the late Jayne E. Stanton.

Family and friends will honor and remember Bob's life by gathering for calling hours in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Wednesday and Thursday, October 14th and 15th, from 4 to 8 p.m. and again at 9 a.m. on Friday morning before leaving in procession to Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Church, 880 Trapelo Road, Waltham where his Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Burial will follow in Holyhood Cemetery, Brookline.

In lieu of flowers please consider honoring Bob's memory with a donation to an organization near and dear to his heart, the Waltham Boys & Girls Club, 20 Exchange Street, Waltham, MA 02451 or online at www.walthambgc.org