Robert “Bob” Demeo, a long-time resident of Marion, MA, passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 30, 2025. Bob was born on October 3, 1931, in Boston to Sophie A. (Bucewicz) Demeo and Pasquale J. Demeo. He was predeceased by his cherished wife of 62 years, Patricia J. (Gannon) Demeo; his two half-brothers, Patrick Demeo and Rick Keith Rickson; and his half-sister, Candice Rickson.
As a teenager during World War II, Bob served in the Massachusetts State Guard, helping combat forest fires on Cape Cod. After graduating from Brighton High School in 1949, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served throughout the Korean War as a Petty Officer Second Class.
Following his military service, Bob earned his Associate’s Degree from Grand Rapids Junior College in 1955 and his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1959.
Bob met his future wife, Patti, at a gathering of the “Hi Hubbers,” a social club for tall people in Boston. They married in 1961. Originally living in Peabody, they settled in Marion in 1963, where they built their home and raised their family.
Bob first came to Marion after joining Sippican Ocean Systems, and later continued his career at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, from which he retired in 1997. In retirement, he enjoyed woodworking, computers, and was also proud to serve as Commander of VFW Post 2425. He and Patti enjoyed attending numerous U.S.S. Destroyer Buck 761 reunions of “Tin Can Sailors” throughout the country where he rekindled old friends.
Bob is survived by his four children: Andrea (John) Adriany of San Diego, CA; Martha (James) Turner of Newbury, VT; Kristen Brown of Taunton, MA; and Paul (Michelle) Demeo of Merrimack, NH. He is also survived by his half-sister, Wendy M. Rickson of Grand Haven, MI. His legacy includes five grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and many dear friends and extended family members.
Visitation will be held at the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett, on Tuesday, December 9th, from 4-7 PM. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Rita’sParish, 113 Front St., Marion, on Wednesday, December 10th at 9:30AM. Interment will follow, with military honors, alongside his wife at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne. For directions and the online guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
