NATICK: Robert D. Eldridge, age 89, a longtime Natick resident and retired Master Mechanic, died on Friday evening, April 21, 2017, at Mary Ann Morse Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Natick. He was the devoted husband of Margaret A. “Peg” (Dunn) Eldridge for 67 years.
Born, raised, and educated in Needham, he was a son of the late William H. and Thelma (Marshall) Eldridge. Bob entered the Army after his 18th birthday and served as an Automotive Mechanic Technician 5th grade, both stateside and overseas until 1947. He then opted for a stint with the Merchant Marine, working primarily in the South Pacific.
Bob returned from the service and started working at the Wellesley Texaco Station. Through the owner, Bob was introduced to Peg and they married on New Year’s Day in 1950. The Eldridge’s settled in Natick in a home that Bob, an extraordinarily talented man, would personally add onto and redesign to meet their changing needs over time. Bob’s primary career was as head mechanic with Leslie T. Haskins Automotive of Wellesley for nearly 40 years. In the early 1960s, he decided to pursue his interest in flight. He earned his private pilot’s license and purchased a dilapidated Fairchild 24 single engine four-seater airplane that he proceeded to strip to its frame and reconstruct entirely. The Fairchild was set for its maiden voyage in 1967, as Bob and his family flew to Palm Beach Florida to drop in on relatives. For the next ten years they would fly at the drop of a hat, particularly enjoying beach landings on Martha’s Vineyard or Cape Cod.
In the 1970s Bob again decided to pursue along harbored interest. A country music enthusiast, he taught himself to play bass guitar and then tasked himself with forming a band. Thus “Sounds of Country” was born – a band of friendly musicians who enjoyed a great deal of success playing nightclubs and private parties, primarily in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Their mode of transportation was a one time Greyhound Bus, again stripped and rebuilt as a luxury accommodation by Bob. The vehicle would later serve as an RV for Bob and Peg’s travels during retirement.
By the 1980s, Sounds of Country had laid down their instruments and Bob quickly found another area of interest – watercraft. Perhaps from nostalgia for his Merchant Marine days, he began accumulating the blue prints for various seagoing vessels. Choosing a particular plan, he would calculate the size ratio to one he could work with and began building exact models from scratch. Though daunting to most of us, these projects were exhilarating to Bob. Varying in size from 3 to 7 feet in length, the models were seaworthy and in most cases motorized. He joined a club that met at Medfield’s Rocky Woods Reservation and garnered much pleasure through his associations there. Among his prized models were one of the Andrea Doria, an American Scout freighter, and a fully functional Sequin tugboat, often used to guide his larger vessels into ports he’d created.
Peg and Bob spent much of the first decade of the millennium cruising together on ships to Alaska, Hawaii, along the Panama Canal, and on the Caribbean Sea. Bob’s keen imagination and extreme energy remained in full throttle well into his 80s. Just a few years ago he felt that the fence around the family home needed replacing. By the time his son-in-law, Jimmy Foley, heard that this project was planned and drove over to help, the postholes were dug, the fencing was set, and there was nothing for Jim to do but cut the ribbon.
Bob was a man who truly followed his dreams. He always believed that life can be wonderful and wonder-filled, and proved both time and again.
Bob is survived by Peg; their daughter Carol J. Foley of Bellingham; grandson Christopher R. Foley and his wife Katie of Sudbury; great-grandchildren Sophia, Patrick, Grace, Ryan, Sam, and Maggie; a sister, Helen Harris of CA; his brother, William H. Eldridge, Jr of AZ; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by Carol’s husband, James C. Foley, in 2016, and a brother, Allan Eldridge.
Relatives and friends are invited to visit with the Eldridge Family on Tuesday, May 2nd from 4 – 7PM in the John Everett & Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park Street at Natick Common, with a Service of Remembrance at 7:00PM. Burial will be private.
Donations may be made in Bob’s memory to the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen Street, Framingham, MA 01701.