Robert Savage Bigelow
Robert Savage Bigelow passed away on Sept. 1, 2017, at Rutland Regional Medical Center. He was born in Newport, Vermont, the son of Helen (Savage) Bigelow and Rudolph Bigelow, on April 28, 1925. He was predeceased by his brother, Charles. Bob enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and served aboard the USS Salinas in the Aleutian Islands. After the war, he attended Kimball Union Academy and Middlebury College where he excelled in football and skiing. He was also an avid tennis player and golfer. He served on the Newport School Board, the Vermont State Highway Board, the Vermont State Current Use Board and the Lund Center in Englewood, Florida. He served on the board of directors for the Rutland Chamber of Commerce, the Rutland Country Club, the Rutland Hospital, VT-NH Blue Cross/Blue Shield, charter member of the Killington Ski Club, First Vermont Bank and Trust Co., Newport Country Club and Associated Industries of Vermont. After Middlebury College, he managed Lakeside Plywood which was founded by his father-in-law, Arthur Roe, then Atlas Plywood in Newport, Vermont. In 1957, he joined Henry Carris and, in partnership, formed Rutland Plywood Corp., Killington Wood Products, Tupper Lake Veneer Corp. and Bernhard Bay Veneer Corp. Survivors include his wife of 69 years, Jeanne Roe Bigelow; his three daughters, Barbara Barrett (Jack) and Nancy Canfield (Bill), both of Rutland, and Patricia Ritchey (Stan), of Carbondale, Colorado; three grandchildren, Sara McClallen (Greg), Ryan Canfield and Lyndsey Canfield; and six great-grandchildren, Bryn, Erin, Kaulah, Jared, Lex and Lena. Memorial contributions may be made to the Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 80 West St., Suite 202, Rutland, VT 05701; or to the Sunshine Fund at The Gables, 1 Gables Place, Rutland, VT 05701. A private committal service will be held in Newport, Vermont, at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of the Tossing Funeral Home.
