Robert G. Waterman Sr.

Robert G. Waterman, Sr., age 88, of Raynham, Massachusetts, passed away on Monday, October 13, 2025. He was the husband of Kathleen (Powers) Waterman, with whom he shared 66 years of marriage—an achievement built on persistence, humor, and a deep affection that carried them through it all.

Born in Dighton, MA, on February 19, 1937, Bob was the son of the late Hazel (Allen) and Harold Waterman. He graduated from Taunton Vocational School in 1956 and served in the Army Reserves. Bob worked for many years at State Street Bank and Trust Co., where he took pride in keeping things running smoothly as Lead Maintenance Supervisor. Before that, he spent 27 years as a truck driver, a job that suited his independence and his knack for doing things his own way.

His listening tastes ran the gamut from country music to police band radio. He loved watching the birds in his yard and tending to his garden. For any other creature that dared encroach on the feeders or his crop yield, he would devise elaborate contraptions of random scraps, odds and ends, and whatever else he could fashion to deal with them. He enjoyed spending time outdoors, especially near Cape Cod, peering at the boats along the Canal through his favorite binoculars.

Bob never met a tool he didn’t like—or a scrap of metal, plastic, or wood he couldn’t imagine a use for someday. His workbench housed legendary collections of nuts, bolts, screws, and nails, all meticulously organized in rusty cans and baby food jars that only he could decipher. He was a lifelong tinkerer who could fix almost anything, usually finding just the right piece from that stockpile (which gave him just enough cover to maintain and add to it).

A man of routines and opinions, Bob could be ornery, gruff, and relentless when it came to doing things the right way—but he had a soft spot for his family. He drove his kids wherever they needed to go, picked them up without (much) complaint, and let them handle his tools—with the requisite admonishment to return them to their proper place. He wasn’t strict, exactly, but no one left the house without enduring a thorough inquisition (unless he’d fallen asleep on his stool by the kitchen door). The lights and refrigerator doors were never safe from his watchful eye. Beneath all that was a father who showed love in his own unmistakable way.

In addition to his wife, Kathleen, Bob is survived by four of his children—James Waterman (and his wife Rachael), Kevin Waterman, Kristen Weaver (and her husband Casey), and Brian Waterman (and his wife Kristin). He was predeceased by his sons Robert Waterman Jr. and Michael Waterman. He also leaves behind his daughter-in-law Debra (Foster) Waterman, thirteen grandchildren: Ashley, Tyler, Jennifer, Heather, Nicole, Alyssa, Claire, Kathleen, Colleen, Kevin, James, Michael, and Cameron, and six great-grandchildren: Declan, Brooke, Nora, CJ, Jonathan, and Maddie. He is also survived by his sister, Hazel (Waterman) LeClair, and was predeceased by his brothers
Harold, Ronald, Donald, and David Waterman.

Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, October 23, 2025, from 4:00–7:00 p.m. in the Riendeau-Mulvey Funeral Home, 467 Bay St., Taunton, MA. A memorial service will be held in the funeral home at 6:30 p.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend.

In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in Bob’s name to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis TN 38105 or at https://www.stjude.org/

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Robert G. Waterman Sr., please visit our floral store.