Robert P. Wehmeyer

In Loving Memory of Robert P. Wehmeyer

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Robert Wehmeyer, age 81, on February 26, 2025 in Sanford ME surrounded by his two children.

Bob was born in Brattleboro Vermont, and later lived in Ft. Wayne, Indiana where he graduated from high school. The day after he graduated, he moved to Colorado to attend college, graduating from Adams State College where he majored in business. Having been raised as a Quaker, Bob was committed to pacifism, and this led to becoming a conscientious objector (CO) to the war in Vietnam. As a CO, instead of serving in the military, Bob was assigned to serve as a prison guard in a juvenile detention center.

Bob married Kathleen Langan in June 1969 and together they had two children. In 1981, with the two kids and a cat, the family moved from Colorado to Maine in the front seat of his green 1970 Ford pickup truck, driving through a blizzard at times. They raised their kids in an old red farmhouse in Shapleigh Maine, where the kids remember climbing the multitude of trees, catching frogs in the pond, sledding through trails cut in the woods, and building hay forts in the fields.

After moving to Maine, Bob spent most of his career as a social worker for the state of Maine. His favorite part of his work was connecting people to the services and support that they needed. He didn’t love everything about the work, but he enjoyed helping people, and he was proud of his ability to succeed at that.

Bob loved being outdoors and that’s where he was happiest. He was an amazing vegetable gardener, and he was passionate about ensuring that all of the rows were perfectly straight and that all of the potato bugs were picked off. He took great pride in providing fresh vegetables to his family – they always had plenty of kohlrabi! He was also a good cook; two of his specialties were liver and onions and cube steak. And for years, he made breakfast for the kids every morning before school – something they will always remember.

In addition to vegetable gardening, Bob also loved landscaping. The yard at the Shapleigh house was always filled with flowering shrubs that he planted and cared for. The landscaping was so beautiful that on multiple occasions people stopped on our road to take pictures. In the spring, it was like a scene on a greeting card. Later in life, Bob turned his passion for plants and landscaping into a small business selling flowering shrubs.

Bob did most of the yard work, but he occasionally enlisted help from the kids. In particular, he would ask Greg and Wendy to pick up every stick in the yard that was bigger than a crayon. Now that Greg has his own lawn mower, he’s very skeptical that this was really necessary! Bob also made the annual chore of cleaning millions of leaves off the yard a family affair. Wendy and Greg often got distracted building elaborate leaf mazes and playing with the dog in giant piles of leaves.

When he was taking a break from the never ending yard improvement projects, Bob loved to watch sports. He would happily watch any baseball, football, or basketball game. His sister-in-law gave him five pounds of sunflower seeds every Christmas, and he would watch a game and eat his sunflower seeds until it was time to get back to work.

Bob was an animal lover. He always had cats and dogs, and at various times he raised chickens, ducks, rabbits, and llamas. He always took great comfort in having a cat or a dog on his lap or by his side.

Bob was passionate about volunteer work and community service. He once claimed that he served on every committee that existed in the town of Shapleigh. This might not have been an exaggeration. When he volunteered for a group, he usually ended up leading that group. For example, he became the coach of Greg’s team in every sport he played, and he eventually became the president of the local athletic association. After volunteering on a few Shapleigh town committees, he became a selectman for many years. When he joined a farmers market, he ended up helping run the market. Some of his other volunteer activities included being an active member of the Windham Land Trust and going to the Dominican Republic to help doctors provide medical care.

One of Bob’s most cherished childhood memories were the summers he spent at his grandparent’s summer home in Groton, VT called Snug Harbor. The Edwards family lived next door and Bob helped on their farm during the summer. His favorite memories included driving the tractor, jumping into the “ole swimming hole” and bringing the cows in from the pasture at night. Throughout his life Bob stayed in touch with members of the Edwards family and returned to Groton on several occasions to visit longtime friends and attend the fall foliage festival.

Bob had a special lady friend in his life over the past several years – Virginia “Ginny” Cole. Ginny was a very important lady to Bob—his beloved “Squeezee” to his “Squeezer.” She brought love, laughter, and companionship through greeting cards, phone calls, thoughtful gifts and cherished visits. Whether sharing lunch or simply spending time together, Ginny’s presence meant the world to Bob. His children are deeply grateful for the joy and comfort she brought into his life.

Bob always maintained his sense of humor. His family could always make him chuckle and smile with a silly riddle or a stupid joke. One of the last riddles he read aloud and laughed at with his kids was “What do you call a hippie’s wife? Mississippi!” He was a lifelong lover of classic rock, had an extensive music collection, and was very proud of the “sweet rig” that Wendy gave to him – a cassette player from the ’90s that let him keep enjoying his favorite tunes.

In the last few years of his life, communication had become difficult for Bob, but he never lost the ability to tell his kids that he loved them and he was proud of them.

Surviving relatives include his son Greg Wehmeyer and granddaughter Ella of Plainville MA, daughter Wendy Martineau & her husband Dan of Sanford ME, brother David Wehmeyer & his wife Paula of Gorham ME, sister Elise Bullard & her husband David of Canon City CO as well as several nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on May 31, 2025 at 11:00 at Portland Friends Meetinghouse – 1837 Forest Avenue, Portland, Maine. This will be a traditional Quaker memorial service followed by light refreshments. Friends and family are encouraged to attend to celebrate Bob’s life, share stories, and reflect on happy memories.