Obituary for Robert Sprague Boit
Penobscot, Maine
Robert Sprague Boit, former president of Union Trust Company, passed away peacefully on Oct. 24, 2023. He was born on April 4, 1931, in Boston, the son of John Edward and Marion Sprague Boit of Brookline, Massachusetts.
A graduate of St. Paul’s School in 1949 and Harvard University in 1953, he often joked that academics were not his strong suit, and that he graduated “summa good luck.” He made it through one year of Harvard Business School before deciding to enlist in the U.S. Army where he was trained in counterintelligence and stationed in Germany.
After returning to Boston, Bob began a career in international banking, eventually running the Paris, France, office of the Bank of Boston. In the early 1970s, he and his wife, Bundy, made the decision to leave the city behind when they purchased a saltwater farm in Penobscot, Maine. Bob became executive vice-president, and later president, of Union Trust, which was acquired by Camden National Bank after he retired. Community banking was his passion, and Bob was immensely proud of the bank’s success and of the people with whom he worked.
In his spare time, Bob worked tirelessly at his home on the Bagaduce River, which he and Bundy named Northern Bay Farm. He raised sheep, chickens, ducks, rabbits, and even two ponies, despite being severely allergic to horses.
In his younger days, he was an avid duck hunter, often rising in the early morning hours to sit in a duck blind before heading to the bank for work. He later gave up hunting and renewed his childhood interest in flyfishing, which he taught to his three sons. Bob and his sons, and later his grandchildren, had many memorable trips to the western mountains of Maine to fish for native brook trout. But his all-time favorite pastime was mowing his fields on a summer day at the farm. An amateur landscape painter, he called his fields his most loved canvas.
He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Bundy (Harding) Boit; his son, Nick, and his wife, Belinda, of Ocean Ridge, Florida; his daughter, Peggy, of Waltham, Massachusetts; his son Sam of Vernon, Connecticut; and his son John and his wife, Kate, of Penobscot, Maine. He is also survived by seven grandchildren: Nathaniel, Jason, Henry, Kathryn, Pearce, Oliver, and Zoe.
A celebration of life will be held at 10:00 AM on December 2, 2023, at the Methodist Church in Penobscot (14 Southern Bay Road). A reception with light refreshments will follow. All are welcome.
The family thanks the wonderful nursing staff at Seaport Village Healthcare in Ellsworth, Maine, and the staff from Gentiva Hospice. A celebration of life will be planned for family and friends.
Those who desire may make contributions in Bob’s memory to the charity of one’s choice.
Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com
Robert Sprague Boit, former president of Union Trust Company, passed away peacefully on Oct. 24, 2023. He was born on April 4, 1931, in Boston, the son of John Edward and Marion Sprague Boit of Brookline, Massachusetts.
A graduate of St. Paul’s School in 1949 and Harvard University in 1953, he often joked that academics were not his strong suit, and that he graduated “summa good luck.” He made it through one year of Harvard Business School before deciding to enlist in the U.S. Army where he was trained in counterintelligence and stationed in Germany.
After returning to Boston, Bob began a career in international banking, eventually running the Paris, France, office of the Bank of Boston. In the early 1970s, he and his wife, Bundy, made the decision to leave the city behind when they purchased a saltwater farm in Penobscot, Maine. Bob became executive vice-president, and later president, of Union Trust, which was acquired by Camden National Bank after he retired. Community banking was his passion, and Bob was immensely proud of the bank’s success and of the people with whom he worked.
In his spare time, Bob worked tirelessly at his home on the Bagaduce River, which he and Bundy named Northern Bay Farm. He raised sheep, chickens, ducks, rabbits, and even two ponies, despite being severely allergic to horses.
In his younger days, he was an avid duck hunter, often rising in the early morning hours to sit in a duck blind before heading to the bank for work. He later gave up hunting and renewed his childhood interest in flyfishing, which he taught to his three sons. Bob and his sons, and later his grandchildren, had many memorable trips to the western mountains of Maine to fish for native brook trout. But his all-time favorite pastime was mowing his fields on a summer day at the farm. An amateur landscape painter, he called his fields his most loved canvas.
He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Bundy (Harding) Boit; his son, Nick, and his wife, Belinda, of Ocean Ridge, Florida; his daughter, Peggy, of Waltham, Massachusetts; his son Sam of Vernon, Connecticut; and his son John and his wife, Kate, of Penobscot, Maine. He is also survived by seven grandchildren: Nathaniel, Jason, Henry, Kathryn, Pearce, Oliver, and Zoe.
A celebration of life will be held at 10:00 AM on December 2, 2023, at the Methodist Church in Penobscot (14 Southern Bay Road). A reception with light refreshments will follow. All are welcome.
The family thanks the wonderful nursing staff at Seaport Village Healthcare in Ellsworth, Maine, and the staff from Gentiva Hospice. A celebration of life will be planned for family and friends.
Those who desire may make contributions in Bob’s memory to the charity of one’s choice.
Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com